#and she fears for percy's well-being too because two years from now will the hardest day of his life and he has no idea

[demigods-posts]

they're filming season two, but i'm thinking about the potential adaption of the mount tam scene in season three. you know, the one where annabeth could apologize for pushing percy out of the way and falling off the cliff in his place, and how she knows that sounds terrible but they didn't have time for another plan and she didn't want to lose him that way. but percy just engulfs her in a hug because he's so relieved that she's safe now and everything else be damned. and annabeth doesn't understand why he's snickering to himself after that last statement, but she melts into the hug anyway because she missed him. and thalia and grover stand in the background happy for their friends on the outside but internally mortified, because their friends are definitely falling for each other but fate may not allow them to see it through.

[malereader-inserts]

For the Sake of Family

Fandom: Harry Potter Pairing: Weasley Family x Son/Brother!Reader Summary: A son is missing, god forbid anyone see a wrath of a grieving Weasley Word Count:  1,233 Request:  it's the battle of Hogwarts and during the 1 hour of calm (Fred is severely injured but still alive) they're making sure everyone is there but they realise that 1 person isnt, one of their sons. Nobody has seen him since the beginning of the fight, no one can find him and they're all very worried. Eventually they do but he was injured because he took a spell for someone. Maybe Luna? (I just like the ones where they protect others-) Warning: Blood and Injury

Arthur and Molly held each other momentarily, Percy had returned to them and so far all their children seem to be unharmed, other than Fred who was almost killed. Fred was being attended by one of the nurses, whilst George fusses over his twin and Percy apologising over and over to Fred. Charlie had yet to arrive, as the mother and father of the big family knew where Ron would be, he was always inseparable from his best friends.

Ginny looked lost as Bill had his attention on Fluer. Ginny, despite not suppose to be in the fight, looking dirty from ash and falling dirt, looked at the band of her brothers before shuffling to her parents.

“Mum, where’s (y/n)?”

It seemed like all the siblings had heard the name as they all stopped, turning heads to Ginny and the parents. Molly stops short as she looks at the boys before her, counting, and missing three sons. Charlie - who could be on his way to help the fight. Ron - who was currently with Harry. And, you - missing. The second youngest son was currently not within their sight.

“Where was the last time you saw (Y/n)?” Arthur asked the boys as they all look sheepishly.

“I haven’t seen him,” Percy says, “I don’t think he’s aware that I’m back.”

Bill and Fleur shared a look before looking at Arthur, “Well, I saw him before the fight started, other than that, we haven’t seen him.”

“He ran past Neville and Sprout,” Fred commented, as he looks at his twin, “What about you, George?”

“Saw him with Luna.”

“Right-” Molly huffed, before looking around the hall before her feet taking her somewhere, she seems like she was following her heart rather her mind.

“Where’s mum going?” Ginny asked, she knew where her mum was going but sometimes it is best to address the unspoken.

“I would assume she is looking for (Y/n),” Arthur answering as he sits down - he can’t help but worry as well - it’s one of his boys.

The siblings silently sat down, exchanging glances. They were all concern with the second son being missing. You were the perfect balance of every sibling. The level headed from Bill, almost the voice of reason, but you got Charlie’s impressive quidditch skills but, unfortunately, have the genius knowledge behind jokes and pranks. You take pride in having Percy’s smarts and the driven motion to excel well in class as well as have Ron’s clumsiness, but Ginny’s spite. 

You were balanced, yet so chaotic all at once. You weren’t one to be forgotten, you were a quick-witted reckless idiot, who would calculate the percentage of how injurious he would get if he was to act on a reckless activity. Ginny sits by her dad and leans her head against his shoulder.

“I hope (Y/n) is okay.”

Ginny would never admit if she had a favourite brother, but if anyone would ask her she would always say you. You might be two years older than her, but you were by her side, unlike Ron. You would be the one to talk quidditch to her, and always cheered her on beating the rest of the siblings, she’s capable of standing up for herself, but you were always there to do so and she appreciates it because it’s so tiring to stand her ground. 

You would actually tutor her in things she doesn’t understand, unlike Percy who was too busy with his nose in a book or Ron being average at his subjects. You were the brother she would go to if she wanted to vent or to cry because you know when to joke about and when to give her solid advice. You were such a happy sibling - she would really take it the hardest if you were dead. 

Molly would not rest easy with the fact that one of her sons might be dead. As she leaves the hall, maybe there are fighters still making their way to the hall to receive aid. There were a few students limping, some just doused in the dirt, but there were other fighters pulling out the dead from the debris and rubble of the school. Molly’s heart was racing, fear was bubbling in her stomach. 

“Mum!” 

Molly turned so quickly that hands had caught her before she toppled over. Her eyes see dirty hands covered in blood, her attention quickly diverts to the face of the person who was holding her. 

“(Y/n)!” She exclaimed, releasing the breathe she had not realised she was holding in. 

Her excitement fades as concern rushes within her, one of her babies is injured. She grabs your upper arms as you wince, one of her hands had landed on something thick and sticky, as she lets go, you let out a breath of relief - her hand covered in blood, suddenly you’ve lost your balance.

“Oh, sweetie - what happened?”

To her surprise, Luna comes under your uninjured arm to allow you to find your balance, the sweet girl smiles politely to your mum.

“It’s my fault really, I should have been more aware of my surroundings.”

“Nonsense, Luna,” You hummed, grinning still, “I knew the risk, it’s not your fault at all.” 

You give your mother a tight smile as she realised that your arm was just a minor injury, but your side seems to be bleeding as well as she helps you to walk as well without you fumbling over your feet. Your family sits anxiously at the entrance door but beaming when they see their mum and brother coming through the door. 

Luna dipping out as Ginny takes over to guide you. 

“Oh thank Merlin,” Arthur exclaims as you groan as they gently sit you down.

“When did Perce get here?” You asked almost immediately, “Glad to see isn’t far up his arse to-”

“Don’t be rude to your brother,” Molly scowls as she gets her wand out to heal as best s she could.

“No, it’s okay,” Percy says, “I think I deserve it, (Y/n) has always been the voice of-”

“Sense.” You and Bill responded

“Intelligence?” Fred and George spoke afterwards. 

“Reason, but sense and intelligence make do too.”

“Well, I don’t think your brother was thinking sense of intelligence when he decided to take a spell for Luna,” Molly lightly scowled, keeping her breathing steady as she could hear you breathe heavily and wincing every now and then.

“You idiot!” Ginny exclaimed.

“Bet you’re a hero to her,” George waves the concern over, looking at you with a suggestive look.

“Trying to woo her, (Y/n)?” Fred teases as you sigh at the twins.

“No-” You answered, giving the twins a glare, “If you would like to know the reason, though I don’t see why it would concern you, Luna remind me of Ginny - and if anything happens to our little sister, those twats has more coming from us than Voldemort himself.”

The family was silent for a moment as Ginny cracks a smile, whilst Arthur chuckles and shakes his head, it’s as almost the tension washes away.

“You’re still an idiot,” Ginny says, but instead there was a light tone to her voice, “You knew were going to live, didn’t you?”

The family looked at you s you smiled charmingly, your eyes glistening, “Of course, I wouldn’t be able to do that to the family.” 

[overheard-at-camp-half-blood]

A Rant About Heroes of Olympus Character Arcs.

Just as a warning most of this is negative, but I put the names in big bold letters, in case you want to skip. I do have some controversial opinions in here, specifically towards Percy and Annabeth, and their relationship, but I don’t think I’m negative towards their actual characters... I more so critique how it could have been written better.

I do still love the series, and even though I poke fun at Rick a bit, I still like him as a writer (though I recognize the problematic elements in this story). These are my own opinions on the books, and I’m sorry if I criticize your character in ways you don’t like.

Also, I may do another post about some other problematic elements, so be on the lookout for that.

Percy

Let’s start with Percy, shall we? After all, he is the one who started it all, and he was the one who introduced us to this world. If I’m being extremely honest, and I know I’m going to get hate for this, but I think Percy’s arc should have ended in the first series. He could have still remained a major character in this series, but I think as far as his main arc went, it wrapped up better in the first series, because I feel like this series added nothing to his arc.

I mean, he and Annabeth went through some majorly traumatic shit in The House of Hades, and then nothing was done about it, and I feel like it would just be better had it not happened. Besides I have some major issues with how his relationship with Annabeth played out.

Annabeth

I was really excited for Annabeth, and I did like her arc in MoA. It seemed like a good continuation of her arc in the first series, where Annabeth wanted to prove herself to everyone else, and now she wanted to prove herself to... well, herself. The arc had potential, and I really enjoyed seeing her arc in MoA, but as I said, I didn’t like how her and Percy’s relationship ship played out.

Now, let me preface this by saying that I am NOT anti-Percabeth, in fact, I do post a lot about it on this blog, but I am critical of how Rick writes established relationships. Perhaps it is because I’m older, so therefore my mind is more critical of these sorts of things.

I love Percabeth, but I really dislike their codependency.... I mean Annabeth’s arc in MoA was great because there was a focus on her relationship with Percy, but it was still about her. And yeah, I understand they’ve been through a lot together, but I really don’t like how their development was dependent on each other.

The reason why I put this under Annabeth and not Percy is because for me, it was much worse for Annabeth, because this was our first time getting this from her perspective. We got to see Percy develop through his own eyes, but we never really got the same for Annabeth. Most of Annabeth’s development was through Percy’s eyes, which was why I was so excited that Annabeth was getting her own POV.

And it was great in MoA! But after that, it honestly felt to me that her story was more about her relationship with Percy, than Annabeth herself.

Jason

Jason was doomed from the beginning.

That’s the main issue, is in the beginning, he was literally a blank slate, and while we were worried about the mystery of his character, there was really no way for us to know who he was as a person, because HE didn’t even know. So, as he was introduced at the same time as Piper and Leo, he didn’t get the same development as Piper and Leo. As we learned the other two’s backstories, and how those backstories represent who they are in the current story.

And the thing is, when we finally DID find out who he was, it was too late to do anything with it, because the story ended. I think by the time Blood of Olympus rolled around, and we did learn more about him... a lot of people had no interest in him.

That being said, I love fanon Jason, and I didn’t like how he was treated in the Trials of Apollo series.

Piper

Piper... I have a very complicated relationship with Piper. I kind of wrote this several times, because I couldn’t quite pinpoint my issues with Piper, and she is such a controversial character for whatever reason, and whatever I say will be perceived as me hating on her. That is not the case. I like the idea of Piper’s character, though I can agree she, as well as the other Aphrodite children, are written with sexist tropes, which is another post.

My main issue with Piper is that most of her development happens off the page. In the first few books, she her charmspeak is shown getting her in a lot of trouble, and she often lacks confidence when using it. My issue is the resolution for this happens mainly off the page.

A huge internal conflict with Piper is her lack of self confidence, which is something that I personally can relate to, but we never see her develop that confidence, we’re just told that it happened. Like she worked with Hazel and Annabeth on xyz, so suddenly she is much better and confident in her abilities of xyz. This kind of made her hard for me to connect with her in general, because it seems like most of her struggles happened off page.

This isn’t even just with her overall character; it’s with her relationship with other characters. We do see her friendship with Leo develop to some extent, but that’s because they already had an established friendship before the series started. Her other relationships? Jason and Piper went from barely knowing each other to dating between books. We never saw her friendship with Annabeth develop. She apparently was friends with Hazel, but that happened off the page.

Now, this happened to each character to some degree, but I think Piper got hit the hardest with the “tell, don’t show,” thing. I do think that because a lot of people didn’t like Piper, and imo, most of the criticisms were bullshit, Rick tried to overcompensate by trying to force development on her, without doing the work of showing us her development.

Leo

To be honest, his wasn’t as bad as others, but I feel like more people were disappointed, because he was a relatable fan-favorite. His arc went wrong for the exact opposite reasons as Piper’s, as there was legitimately a lot of development on the page, and he had a good arc set up, but Rick literally forgot everything that initially made his character so likeable to the audience.

So, here’s my thing with Leo’s arc; it was really good for the first three books, as Rick did develop him while leaving room for more development in new books. He also had a consistent arc; in The Lost Hero his arc was about his inferiority complex, which was directly connected to his trauma. He never felt like he had a home, and never felt like he belonged.

This was the direction I was hoping they would go with the “seventh wheel” storyline; meaning, yeah, he’s the only one in the seven who’s not in a relationship, but why does this bother him so much? Because, I don’t think it was the fact that he was in a relationship, I think it was trauma.

I so badly wanted the seventh wheel plot line to be an extension of what happened in TLH, but it became ignored, and it just seemed like a reason to put him in a relationship.

I’m not going to sit here and say that Leo shouldn’t have been in a relationship (though I will say I had an issue with Caleo), but I will say that I hate how a relationship was supposed to solve his feelings of inferiority- when it’s clearly indicated that Leo had those feelings because of trauma. A relationship can’t reverse years of trauma.

I also thought it would be so much more impactful if Leo made his sacrifice because of his feelings of inferiority, then perhaps the resurrection happens through one of his friends.

Hazel

I fucking hate how little Hazel (and Frank) were written into the series, especially considering she was one of my favorite new characters introduced in HoO. I also think she had the most potential, and her backstory was the most intriguing of the seven.

Why the hell was she not in the books more? Rick literally wrote a whole ass book in the series that mostly centered around the two already developed characters of the series, but he couldn’t give Hazel and Frank more POVs?

I don’t have anything to say about Hazel’s arc, because she barely HAD one, at least not after her initial one in SoN. The Sammy arc was made about Leo, which I get to some extent, as they sort of have a connection through Sammy. That being said, Leo never actually knew Sammy, and I feel like the flashback scene would have been so much more impactful from Hazel’s POV.

The biggest issue with that is it didn’t really feel like a way to develop any of the characters, but it was used as a way to justify a love triangle... that was barely even a love triangle.

In conclusion, Hazel was screwed over.

Frank

Frank, oh I have some things to say about the writing of Frank’s character, because my issue with Frank’s writing is a combination of the off-the-page development that happened with Piper, and the lack of POVs issue with Hazel, but to different degrees. Most of my issues with this comes from between Heroes of Olympus and Trials of Apollo

See, I do think his lack of POVs contributing to his lack of character development, you know what pisses me off?

The fire stick thing was a HUGE part of his character arc. It caused him legitimate fear and partially affected his relationship to some of the others (coughLeocough). And the resolution? Happened between series, and it’s literally mentioned in passing. What the fuck, Rick?

I don’t know, to me, it just seemed like a betrayal to his whole character arc, because we saw him struggle so much because of this, and the resolution just happened off page? I can just rant about how annoyed I am by that, because it just felt like Rick realized he forgot about Frank, and resolved his whole internal conflict off the page.

Nico

I love Nico! But, of course, I do have my criticisms of his character.

First of all, I really enjoyed how we got his point of view in Heroes of Olympus, but I really just wish he was part of the seven to begin with, for a number of reasons. First of all, it just makes sense- it’s indicated that he is the only demigod who knows about both camps... so wouldn’t it make sense that he would be part of the plan to reunite them? Don’t get me wrong, he does play a big role in this anyways, but it’s kind of weird that he just knows, and nobody thinks, “Hey, maybe we should include Nico!”

Another huge issue I had, was Nico’s coming out scene was in Jason’s point of view... which I get, because I’m reality, he wasn’t one of the seven... but it just seems fucked up? I mean I like headcanons of Nico and Jason’s friendship, but the unfortunate truth is... they didn’t actually know each other.

In fact, Nico wasn’t really that close to any of the seven- he was probably closest to Percy, and even he didn’t know that much about him at times. It just felt weird, not only seeing Nico come out in someone else’s POV, but in a POV of someone he barely even knew.

Also the fact he was forced to come out... I see the intentions, but it’s just not a good look.

Reyna

Reyna... don’t have any issues against Reyna, other than I wish we had more time with her before the last book. She was such an interesting character and I needed more of her.

[malfoymanortings]

bad child

SUMMARY: Gwendolyn Weasley was the only one of her family to be sorted into Slytherin, and she becomes the black sheep of the family. her morals get twisted as she fights for her place in Slytherin house, but will she lose them completely?

PAIRINGS: none, eventual Draco X OC if continued.

hello! really im not sure if this is worth continuing, but it’s been floating around my mind for awhile so I decided to start writing it out. possibly will become a mini series if anyone wants it? enjoy!

Ginerva and Gwendolyn Weasley were the second set of twins to be born to the Weasley family. Their parents had been ecstatic to finally receive the girls they had so desperately wanted (more so Molly than Arthur), that it temporarily overshadowed the sheer panic of them having been twins. Twin girls.

Their first set of twins, Fred and George, had been more than several handfuls to deal with. If they weren’t lighting something on fire, they were terrorizing their easiest target, their youngest brother Ron.

The girls had proved to be just as difficult in their own way.

From a very early age Gwendolyn was able to convince Ginerva to do just about anything she said. Stealing from muggle shops, their siblings, neighbors; setting out more vindictive traps for the muggles around their neighborhood. The girls were close, but there was always the understanding between them that Gwendolyn was the leader out of the two. In addition to that, she was also the more manipulative and cunning of the two.

That’s not to say that Ginerva wasn’t strong in herself. She just loved her twin dearly, and was willing to put her own morals aside for the sake of keeping the peace with her twin. Gwendolyn had always felt that as the only girls, and the second set of twins, they needed to work hard to stand out and not let opportunities for power pass them by. Even if that power was only enjoying stolen bubble gum while their siblings had none.

Regardless of her questionable morals, Gwendolyn fiercely loved her family and had a conscience, contrary to what her older brother Percy seemed to think. She just cared more about what would be best for her and in turn, her twin, than how her actions would affect others. Gwendolyn would go to the ends of the earth to ensure Ginerva was okay.

By the time the girls had turned nine, their parents had come to realize that although Ginerva was normally at the forefront of the trouble they got into, Gwendolyn was the orchestrator of the scheme. No matter how many times Molly berated the girls for their wrongdoings, they didn’t stop. She spoke with Ginerva and told her she did not always have to go along with her sisters plans, and she spoke with Gwendolyn, telling her just because Ginerva was willing to do things for her didn’t mean she should.

Ginerva had tearfully said she would do better. Gwendolyn had laughed.

When the girls had finally headed off to Hogwarts, their mother had fretted and worried and bitten her nails as she sent them off, giving their older brothers firm instruction to watch over them. Percy had taken the suggestion to heart and swore he would, the twins had saluted their mother and laughed as they nodded, Ron had just shrugged noncommittally. Molly even requested that Harry and Hermione do their best to watch out for them, and the second years promised they would.

Ginerva was sorted first. The hat sat on her head for a few moments before loudly proclaiming “GRYFFINDOR!”. The redhead made her way over to the rest of her redheaded family, who hooted and hollered and made a ruckus as she blushed.

Gwendolyn was next. The hat sat on her head for a few beats longer than her twin, before proclaiming “SLYTHERIN!” just as loudly as it had for Ginvera. The redhead’s eyes widened for a moment, before she quickly fixed her expression into an indifferent mask and walked stiffly towards the green and silver table. Her family at the Gryffindor table had hesitated before clapping; Percy with an expression of horror, the twins with a disappointed grimace, Ron with a mix of concern and fear, and Ginerva with a look of crushed devastation. 

Gwendolyn didn’t spare a second glance towards her family as she set down tentatively at the Slytherin table, hearing murmured whispers coming from an already established friend group a few seats down from her. She had felt out of place without her twin next to her.

“I’m Astoria,” the brunette next to her greeted, holding out a hand for her to shake.

“Gwendolyn,” she replied, giving the other girl a firm shake. “You can call me Gwen.”

The brunette nodded and smiled, before turning her attention back to the sorting.

“Weasley, hm?” a voice drawled to her left, and she turned to see a boy with slicked back silver hair giving her a haughty once over. “I’ll have to let father know they let one of you in Slytherin. Surely the hat has made a mistake. A muggle loving blood traitor would never be allowed in Slytherin.”

Gwendolyn paused for a moment, her thoughts racing. She knew enough about Draco Malfoy to know his approval would make or break her acceptance into Slytherin house. She needed to earn his approval. She had to show him he wasn’t just another Weasley. She had to break free.

Her eyes narrowed. “The hat doesn’t make mistakes, Malfoy. But perhaps you do. I’m not like my family. I absolutely hate muggles. They disgust me.”

She said the words with force, her lip slightly curled up in a snarl. A rush went through her at the admission. Her family would never allow her to talk like that. Although she didn’t thoroughly hate muggles, she certainly didn’t like them. It was thrilling to finally say it out loud.

Draco looked taken aback. He lifted an eyebrow, eyeing her appraisingly. “Well, Weasley, maybe your family isn’t a complete blood traitor waste after all.”

“My name is Gwendolyn.”

“I don’t recall caring.”

The two glowered at each other for a moment, before Dumbledore gathered everyone's attention for his speech. The night went on rather quickly from that moment, and before long they had headed up to their dorms. Gwendolyn spent her first night in Slytherin tower staring at the ceiling and contemplating her future. Tears would be useless. She had to be strong to get through her Hogwarts career. Her sister would not be at her side. That night, she resolved to be strong, sly, and cunning. It was her best bet at getting through the year unscathed.

Gwendolyn proved during her years at Hogwarts that she was nothing like her family. It gained her the approval of Malfoy, which shot her up the social ladder of Slytherin house. Astoria Greengrass had become her closest friend, and the two girls were accepted into Malfoy’s prominent social circle by the end of their first year. Her growth and flourishing in Slytherin house had driven a large wedge between herself and her family. Her voiced distaste of muggles and her turned nose at muggleborns did not go unnoticed by her family.

 In return for being accepted into Slytherin, she had lost her family relationships.

Summers were always the hardest. She no longer had Ginerva as a friend. The girls had grown cold and distant with each other as a result of Ginerva becoming more confident in herself without her sister constantly in her ear. Percy, before he too had abandoned their family for the ministry, had acted as though she didn’t exist. The twins were more and less the same, although they weren’t as sociable towards her as they were towards the others. Ron absolutely despised her for not only being Slytherin, but also being good friends with Malfoy. Charlie and Bill simply weren’t around.

Her mother was, to put it honestly, disappointed in how she had shunned everything she had been taught morally growing up. Her father resented the way she spoke of muggles, and endlessly attempted to change her mind. They didn’t understand that when she was sorted into Slytherin house as the only Weasley, she did what she needed to do to not only thrive, but survive. 

A small part of her that grown bigger over the years couldn’t help but start to believe in what the Slytherin’s thought. Especially with the way her family shunned her and couldn’t understand that she had done what she needed to do as a scared, lonely eleven year old.

Things had gotten worse since Voldemort's return. At the end of her fourth year, Ron and Ginny had accompanied Harry to the Department of Mysteries where they had fought against Death Eaters and Voldemort himself had shown up. Apparently in protest of Umbridge, they had been involved in Dumbledore’s Army, something they had not invited her to be part of. The rest of her family that still attended Hogwarts had been in the club, aside from her. 

She was used to not being included by now, of course. 

Her parents were a part of the Order of the Phoenix, an organization founded to fight Voldemort and his followers. Her siblings were much more informed on what went on during the meetings than she was. It wasn’t from her lack of trying, of course. When they had spent the summer at Grimmauld Place, she had attempted to listen in on the Extendable Ears with the others. But they always managed to shift away slightly or crowd around the ears so there was no way for her to hear. They simply didn’t trust her.

She had heard the Golden Trio speaking on more than one occasion about how she shouldn’t even have been allowed there with them. None of her siblings ever stuck up for her. It stung, but she supposed it was only reasonable. After all, she was a Slytherin. As Ron had always voiced, normally paired with a biting glare towards her, there wasn’t a witch or wizard that was in Slytherin that hadn’t gone bad. Apparently he had adopted the phrase from Hagrid.

So she sat outside most of the summer, alone, lying under the large Sycamore tree a yard away from the house. She had been offered more than once to visit her housemates' places during the summer, but her parents had forbidden it. With the war gaining momentum, it was too much of a risk. The unspoken message was clear. They didn’t trust that she would keep quiet about any 

“Hey, Gwen.”

Gwendolyn turned with a start, her thick red hair tumbling over her shoulder. Harry Potter stood a few feet away from her, looking awkward as he waited for her reply. She examined him for a moment. He was taller now, more filled out and sturdy, she supposed from an aesthetic standpoint she could understand why her sister liked him so much. 

“Can I help you?” the words were sharp, her brow raised as she awaited an answer. 

He rarely talked to her. None of them did really, except for when their mother forced them all too cheerily to interact ast family dinners and the more sparse family outings. But Harry had always treated her as though she were a bomb, one step too close and she might take him out. 

“Well, erm,” Harry seemed to blanch at her boldness. He seemed to have been expecting her to be more like Ginny. “I was wondering… I know you’re friends with Malfoy,” the name fell from his lips in a twisted spit. “Have you heard much from him this summer? I saw him in Knockturn alley while we were shopping for school supplies, and he seemed off. I just was wondering if he had said anything to you that made you worried.”

Gwendolyn stared at him for a moment, listening to him ramble on. He was awful at being subtle. He wanted to know if she knew any of Draco’s secrets, and he thought if he asked her nicely she would willingly give them up. She had to scoff at that. Typical Gryffindor.

“You’re concerned for his well being?” she stood, her voice falsely sweet. “That’s so kind of you, Potter. But from what I recall, you and Draco don’t care much for each other,” she tapped a finger to her chin, pretending to ponder the thought for a moment. “Oh! You were just hoping I would gossip with you. Perhaps next time, try Veritaserum. Or have your little brainiac give you a more subtle approach.”

Harry stuttered for a moment, seeming at a loss for words. He glanced backwards, and she followed his gaze to see Ron and Hermione standing at the front door of the Burrow, watching them. Her eyes narrowed, her jaw clenching.

“Get lost, Potter,” she snarled, anger flashing through her like a hot branding iron. “Or I’ll give them something to watch.”

“Right, erm, sorry.” Harry managed to say, turning and walking swiftly to the house. He didn’t spare her a backwards glance, and the trio slipped into the Burrow the moment Harry came back.

Gwen tamped down on her anger, wishing desperately she were at Hogwarts already. Tomorrow couldn’t come fast enough.

[whenihaveyouromione]

When I Have You - Chapter 9

Read on Fanfiction.net or ao3 if you’d prefer. 

Follow this story’s Instagram account whenihaveyou.romione for sneak peeks, art, and other things. 

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Chapter 9

The next week was the longest and hardest of Ron's life, and that was saying something, considering he had spent months alone and miserable when he'd left the tent all those nights ago and been unable to return. 

This time, however, he had his friends and family around him, and yet he missed Hermione more than he ever had before. He felt rather stupid, really, feeling so strongly, but he supposed the difference this time was that he knew how she felt about him, which made her absence so much more unbearable.

Hermione had not written to him in her week away but had made contact with the Ministry to update on her situation. Percy had passed on the information. She'd located her parents, but the last they'd heard (two days ago), she'd been unable to reverse the memory charm she’d placed on them. Not because she couldn't, but because she was having difficulty in gaining her parents' trust to let her get close enough to perform it. 

Ron couldn't imagine being in her shoes. He knew how much her parents meant to her and how hard it had been to erase their memories to begin with. He didn't want to think about what would happen if she couldn't get to them. 

One thing that Hermione's absence was good for, though, was connecting once again with George. Ron had been so caught up with Hermione and his own grief that he had not made the effort he perhaps should have to check in with his brother. George’s mood fluctuated greatly from day to day — hour to hour, really — which meant that his presence at the Burrow was sporadic, and he was prone to simply getting up and leaving when things got too much. As much as he wished to, Ron had been too afraid to say anything more than a hello to his brother out of fear of upsetting him.

But during his week before Auror training, and with a lot of time on his hands, Ron had made the decision that it was time. No one else had been successful in getting through to George, but Ron hoped that maybe he could. 

It was a good start when George answered the door to his flat with a smile on his face. 

"Hey!" he said.

"Hey," Ron replied. "Mind if I come in?"

George stepped aside and allowed Ron to pass. Ron immediately knew that his brother had left all pretence of joy at the door. With a sinking heart, he turned to George and said,  "Mate, you really need to —"

"Yeah, yeah, I know." George sighed, using his wand to push aside a pile of clothes on an armchair so Ron could sit.

"If Mum saw how you're living…" Ron continued, looking uneasily around at the piles of washed and unwashed clothes, dirty dishes; bits of food scraps that had fallen to the floor, seemingly weeks ago, gave off an unpleasant smell. Ron wasn’t tidy and organised most days, but even he felt the urge to take out his wand and offer his assistance. 

"Don't tell her!" George said. "I don't need that right now. It's… well, it’s how we left it before we were called away to fight, you know. I’ve just… added to it." He sat on the second armchair, not bothering to push anything aside. "So, how have you been?"

Ron nodded. "Alright, I suppose. I start Auror training on Monday."

"Bill mentioned that," George said, giving another wide smile. "Fancy that. My little brother, an Auror. Never been prouder."

Despite himself, Ron grinned. “Yeah, I mean, I’ve always kind of wanted to… but I never really believed… it’ll be fun, I reckon. How have you been?”

"Speaking of what you’ve always wanted," George said, as if Ron hadn’t said anything, "I have not had the chance to tell you how relieved I am that you and Hermione finally sorted yourselves out." He paused, thoughtful, and when he spoke again, his voice took on a tone that resembled humour, but was like he couldn’t bring himself to actually laugh. "Fred and I, we had a plan: if one of you hadn't made a move by the end of your seventh year, we were going to lock you in a broom cupboard together until something happened. Glad we didn't have to eventuate to that."

Ron flinched at the mention of Fred’s name. He could barely stand the look that flashed across George’s face, and turned towards the growing pile of dishes accumulating in the kitchen. "Yeah, well, she's gone for the moment."

"And I hear you've been moping around like a lovesick puppy because of it."

"I have not!" Ron scowled. "Who told you that? Ginny, I bet. I just miss her. Things finally happen, and then she goes away…"

George grinned, and this time it seemed genuine. "She'll be back. Are you in love with her? Actually, that’s a stupid question, of course you are.”

Ron smiled. This was the George he remembered. 

For a while, they talked about other things, but eventually the topic couldn't be avoided anymore. It wasn’t the main reason he’d come, but it was something Harry and Ginny had suggested he bring up while he was there. After exhausting all other conversation points, Ron said, "Have you, er, had time to think about the joke shop? Things are starting to open again, and I thought —”

George's expression darkened. "No. I haven’t. I won’t be."

Ron stared at him for a moment, but decided to plough on regardless. “Come on, mate, you say that now, but maybe in a few months, when you’re feeling better. When things have —”

"I said no," George said, and he stood up. "I think you should go."

Ron also got to his feet, staring at his brother, shocked by George’s sudden mood change. "I didn't mean to… we all miss him, you know."

But George said no more, and Ron left the flat feeling rather defeated. 

"By the look on your face, it went wonderfully," Harry said when he returned home a few moments later.

"He was alright until I brought up the shop," Ron groaned, collapsing into a chair at the kitchen table opposite Harry. "Maybe I suggested it too soon. Perhaps I should have warmed him up a bit more."

"Not sure it would have made a difference based on what Bill said the other day," Harry said comfortingly. "But that's okay. He'll come around eventually."

Ron nodded. "Yeah, I hope so. Because he did say he never planned on opening it again, and… I don’t know if that will be good for anyone, if he means it."

“He doesn’t mean it,” Harry said. 

Ron shrugged. He hoped George didn’t. 

"Listen," Harry said, and he looked around the room as if looking for eavesdroppers. Ron wondered if he was looking out for Ginny. "I've been thinking… it’s a bit crowded here at the moment. Too many people —”

“Less than usual,” Ron said, eyeing Harry suspiciously. He didn’t like where this was going. 

“Well, I just think that I may have outstayed my welcome.”

“Never!” Ron said. “You’re not planning on taking off again, are you? Because —”

“No, not taking off, but moving out as such,” Harry said. “Into my own place, have my own space… everyone would be welcome, of course, but it’d be mine.”

"Where to?" Ron asked.

"Grimmauld Place," Harry said, shrugging. "It's mine, isn't it? May as well make use of it." He shrugged again. "You don't think… your mum will mind, do you?"

"Well, yeah, probably,” Ron said. “But she doesn’t really have a choice, does she?” A thought then popped into his head. "Hey, how would you feel about having a housemate?”

"You mean you?" Harry asked. 

Ron nodded. "Er, if you don't mind? I can't stay here forever, and when Hermione comes back, she'll probably move back in with her parents, so I'll appreciate the company of someone who isn’t my parents."

Harry grinned. "I didn't plan on it, but now that you mention it, it seems like a fantastic idea. Not sure why I didn't think of it!"

Ron returned his grin. "Great! When are you planning on moving?"

"This weekend," Harry said. "Think you can pack in a few days?"

Ron patted his pocket where his wand was. "No problem! This will be fun, won’t it? You and me, living together. Will be like the good old days at Hogwarts.”

"What will be?" Arthur had just entered the kitchen, home from work by mid-afternoon. It wasn't the first time. His office was quieter than usual, and he'd often made comments about retiring, because he didn’t seem needed anymore.  

"Oh…" Ron looked at his dad. "Harry and I… we'll be moving out of here in a few days. To Grimmauld Place."

"Ah!" Arthur smiled. "That sounds like a very good idea, actually. Though, to Grimmauld Place?” He looked between them, rather alarmed. “I would have thought —”

“I already own it, don’t I?’ Harry said. “I know it’s not the most welcoming of places, but Sirius left it for me, and… we can decorate it.”

“And get used to living with screaming portraits…” Ron added, feeling slightly dejected now that he remembered the portrait of Sirius’ mother. 

Harry laughed. “Yeah, that too.”

Arthur smiled again. “Well, sounds like a good idea, boys. Though, I do suggest you tell your mother, Ron. Sooner, rather than later. No more secrets, remember.”

“Oh… yeah,” Ron said, his mood falling even more. 

“Cheer up, mate,” Harry said. “It’s not like she’d be expecting you to live here forever. You were always going to move out eventually. So why not now?”

"Yeah, I guess." Though, Ron couldn't help the wave of guilt he felt about telling his mother. She’d be sad to see him go, but it was the right call now that he thought about it. As much as he loved the Burrow — it had been his home his whole life — he was of age, and he had to start making a life for himself somehow. Soon, he'd have his own money, and he'd spent most of his last seven years living with Harry and it had been simple. Granted, they'd never had to buy food for themselves before, but that couldn't be too hard, surely. 

"Should be fun," Harry said, disrupting Ron's thoughts. "You and me, then when they want to, Hermione and Ginny… I'm looking forward to it."

When Harry put it like that, so was Ron. When Hermione came back, there'd be less hiding when it was just Harry around. He wouldn't be eying them suspiciously, wondering just what had occurred between them. Nor would Ron have to feel uncomfortable about it either. Harry would be cool about it.

"Now to tell Mum," Ron muttered.

…

Oddly, breaking the news that he was leaving home in a few days didn't seem to bother Molly nearly as much as Ron thought it might have. In fact, she was rather unperturbed when he told her that it momentarily left Ron speechless. He'd planned a whole defence as to why he needed to, which he now didn't have to use, and he had no idea what to say to her.

"I will be sad, of course," Molly said. "And the two of you will be welcome to come round for dinner whenever you feel like it. But I understand that you wish for your own space. All my children said the same thing at your age, and I know I haven’t been the easiest to live with at the moment."

"It’s not that, Mum, it’s… er… we'll come ‘round as much as we can," Ron promised, looking at an equally perplexed Harry. "Promise. No idea how to cook. You, Harry?"

Harry shook his head. "No idea at all."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "The two of you are hopeless. Don't worry, Mum, they'll be crawling back here once their food runs out."

Ginny had not taken the news that Harry was leaving once again very well. Despite Harry and Ron's assurances that she was welcome at Grimmauld Place as often as she wanted, she'd been annoyed that Harry hadn't consulted her once again. 

"Well, if it makes you feel any better," Ron said to her when she expressed her frustration at Harry's evasiveness, "Hermione doesn't even know at all yet."

That had not cheered her up at all. "Not the same," she scowled. "Honestly, I always thought you were the most useless with women, but Harry is very much proving me wrong at the moment. At least you can admit your feelings towards Hermione. At least she knows how you feel about her."

Ron said nothing, for talking about Harry and Ginny's relationship still made him uncomfortable. After a moment, he patted her on the back. "He loves you," he assured her. "He's just…"

"Harry," Ginny sighed. And she walked away. 

Ron watched her for a moment, seeing how dejected she seemed, and decided that he needed to get past his own discomfort and talk to Harry about his sister. This couldn't keep going on. 

Ron still didn’t know where their relationship stood, and it seemed that Ginny didn’t either. He understood that Harry was going through a lot, but for the most part, he was his normal self around Ron again, so it was no longer an excuse to be different with Ginny. She’d spent some time with him at Grimmauld Place alone, which now bothered Ron. What was Harry doing?

The opportunity to confront Harry arose that same night, when Harry came into his room just after Ron had decided to go to bed. 

"Mind if I sleep in here?" he asked, drawing the camp bed he’d spent many nights in, in the past, out from the corner. 

Ron stared at him. "Why?"

Harry flushed. "Ginny… kicked me out."

"Why?" Ron asked again, keeping his tone even. 

Harry shrugged. "Something about not talking to her about deciding to leave… apparently I was supposed to... I dunno."

Ron was no expert in relationships, and he'd freely admit that to anyone who’d ask, but even he had to admit that Harry was more clueless than he was. There was the whole Cho incident a few years ago where he just hadn't got it, and now this.  

Ron sat up in his bed, and, summoning the bit of Molly Weasly that was in him, looked at Harry so sternly that Harry sat up immediately on the camp bed and asked, "What?"

“Is she your girlfriend?”

Seemingly startled by Ron’s tone, Harry stammered. “I… well… I think so.”

“Why don’t you know?” Ron asked. 

“Well, we haven’t really discussed it really. There’s not really been a good time —”

“But you’ve slept with her, haven’t you?” Ron asked, feeling his face go red at just asking about his sister in that position. “And you’ve spent nights with her, acted like she’s your girlfriend, haven’t you?”

Harry said nothing, staring at Ron with a rather bewildered expression. Apparently he’d expected to come to Ron’s room to perhaps have a laugh at how ridiculous Ginny was being. 

"I don't know much, but one thing I have learnt," Ron said when Harry didn’t respond, "is you've got to talk to her. Is she your girlfriend, or just a fling, or what?" he asked again.

“She’s my girlfriend,” Harry said more confidently this time. He looked away from Ron. “But I suppose I’ve not been the best boyfriend.”

Ron watched him for a moment and then said, "Did you ever read that book I gave you?"

"Didn't really have the time with all the Horcrux hunting," Harry said.

Ron scowled at the tone. "Well, you should. It's really quite useful. It has lots of answers, one being you've got to talk to her. You've got to let her know you care." Ron sighed. He really didn't want to ask, but Harry hadn’t denied that they’d had sex, so what difference did it make now? "Do you love her?"

"Yes."

Ron liked Harry's definitive answer. He nodded. "Then tell her."

"But… how?" Harry stared blankly at Ron. 

"Say the words."

"But… how? I love her, but my mind at the moment is… still not great, and if I tell her, and something goes wrong, then she’s once again left out —"

"Well…” Ron said thoughtfully, “she’s my little sister, but she’s still capable of looking after herself. She wants to be with you, and she loves you — you know that — so let her decide. Just tell her how you feel and she can decide.”

“Who said it first — you or Hermione?” Harry asked.

Ron flushed. “Hermione, but —”

Harry snorted. “Nice advice, mate.”

Ron glowered, still not satisfied that Harry wasn’t taking this seriously. “You’ve just got to stop messing my sister around, alright? She’s upset and confused, and she just wants to know where she stands with you. One moment you’re there, then the next, you’re not. Ignore my advice if you want — Merlin knows I’m no expert — but don’t do what I did. Don’t leave it for seven years. Sort it out now.”

Harry stared at Ron for a moment and then nodded. "Alright. Fine. I just don’t know how to go about it.”

“Tell her how you feel.”

Harry nodded again. "Okay. Tomorrow. I'll tell her tomorrow. I love you. I can say those words, can't I?"

"Sure you can," Ron said. "You just did."

"Hm. Girls. Women. Why do they have to be so complicated? I thought I would have figured it out by now… you seem to have."

Ron didn't have an answer for that. Once upon a time, he'd asked the very same question to himself. But now, Harry was right, he had figured it out.

Somehow.

Harry laid down on the bed; Ron did the same. Then, as a last thought before he drifted to sleep, he said, "It becomes far less complicated once you establish where you stand with one another. Trust me on that one, too. It took me seven bloody years to figure that out."

[your-turn-to-role]

Top 5 critical role npcs who are family members of player characters

you know i’m kind of honoured by how well you lot know me, all the questions i’ve got today have been so targeted at the shit i’m into

but oooooohhh, this is a question

like there’s a space for family members who i love

and there’s also a space for the ones who are complete dickheads or outright villains but are interesting, or have interesting scenes (thoreau lionett, syldor vessar, kevdak, a lot of the trickfoots)

but just going with that former question....

5. Cassandra de Rolo

her and percy have the best relationship, for starters, i love the very careful mix of “we lost all our other family and you’re all i have left and you’re the most important person in the world to me and i love you” but also “you’re my sibling and i cannot stand to see your face”, it makes for the funniest scenes, percy hugging her and her fighting him off, cass mocking percy after they get back in search for bob, the whole thing after his resurrection... it’s wonderful.

but also just on her own merit, this girl has been through a lot, like... losing your whole family when you’re only 13 or so (a lot of people seem to forget she’s the youngest de rolo), hiding in your own house and hearing them torture your brother, helping him escape only to get shot down and nearly die, wake up and be told percy’s dead too, you really have nothing left. living in the same castle as the murderers for your entire teenage years, watching as they slowly kill your city, mind controlling you into helping. being freed from that and suddenly instated as the leader of the city, just barely an adult and not trusting any of your own decisions but knowing that everyone relies on you, and you can’t let them down. and fucking doing it, like, cassandra is so fucking strong, barely anyone even knows she’s struggling. more hugs for cass pls she’s real good and didn’t deserve this

(also, rogues. are my fave.)

4. Velora Vessar

god i wish we could have seen more of her. i know they can’t do anything about the technical difficulties but the fact that her first scene gets cut out is an endless source of frustration, i want to see the child!

but what we do have is wonderful, she’s so cute, i love. both of the twins are so soft around her which is a side of them i love seeing, and also like... her and her outdoorsy nature and her owlbear and her just lowkey encouraging the twins’ rebellion by being a rebellious child and her pretending to be the twins and just aaaaaahhhh

she’s also like... somewhere between fjord and caleb’s age (which is kind of weird to think about but also you can reverse it and think about how during the vox machina campaign fjord and caleb were this tiny), so she’s high on the list of characters i’d like to see return in campaign 2, it probably won’t happen but like... i wanna know what velora’s like now

(rogue! rogue! rogue! rogue! rogue!)

3. Calliope or Clarabelle Clay

yeah, i really can’t pick on this one. i mean this space is kinda for all the clays, because i adore this family and everything about it, but particularly the sisters. calliope because we saw the most of her and her relationship with caduceus which is also great (like, i love endlessly loving sibling relationships as much as the next person but sibling relationships with taliesin’s characters are just so antagonistic in the funniest way, the scene with cad and calliope and the pool? perfection), and clarabelle because she’s small and weird and likes bugs and i adore her

2. Marion Lavorre

i love that there’s a mother in this show that isn’t dead? and is a good mother? of the very few mothers in dnd that are alive, most of them aren’t great people, or at the very least, enabling a very not great father. but marion is just so wonderful, i love her so much. i also love the fact that like, she’s a sex worker and everyone knows this but no one thinks less of her for it, she’s incredibly highly respected and everyone loves her, and while she may be a single parent of a daughter she wasn’t prepared for, she’s given that daughter more love than like every other parent in this show combined. takes no shit, is incredibly respectful of whatever jester wants to do with her life, jester can talk openly to her about anything, there’s no judgement, just support. also like... has fears, struggles to leave the house, but isn’t looked down on for that either

(also i just adore seeing her interact with the rest of the mighty nein, it’s so funny)

1. Kaylie Shorthalt

it’s funny considering scanlan is pretty low on the list of my favourite characters, not because i don’t like him, just, he’s not much my type and everyone else i like more. but seriously i would watch a whole show just for kaylie. i love the way matt plays her, i love her personality, i love her character arc and development, i love what her presence does to scanlan’s character arc and development, i love that she’s a tough street-wise gnome girl who will beat your ass in a bar fight but also is a violinist (and like, fiddler style, i say this as someone who plays the violin and also has a bit of experience with most instruments, that is one of the hardest things to learn in music, it requires so much patience, dedication, and precision. fiddlers get a reputation based on the style of music they play of being like... easy going laid back jokey people but legit if someone can play a fiddle well they are every bit as professional as a goddamn orchestral pianist), as well as pretty good in most other instruments. this girl will 100% cheat you out of money in a gambling game but also you could put her in a music school and she’d show up almost everyone there, i’m not kidding.

her dedication and skill is also pretty clear when like... her and scanlan left for a year to figure themselves out and returned as crime lords running half of ank’harel.

and then she decides what she wants to do with her life after vecna’s gone and scanlan’s no longer in danger is go to school, because she never finished school, but not just to learn, specifically to prove she’s better than rich kids

(and probably beat up one or two i’m sure)

seriously she’s the best

[percabeth4life]

I Accidentally Vaporize My Pre-Algebra Teacher

First Chapter || Previous Chapter || Next Chapter (coming soon) || AO3

And we’ve reached canon timeline!

Ms. Dodds clearly has something out for me.

I can tell.

She watches me with narrow eyes, a dangerous look on her face.

I can feel the magic that clings to her, it feels like the strange itch of a curse, but not quite.

There’s an almost buzz with her, cloudy and indistinct.

I really don’t like her either.

Thankfully I’m good enough at Math to do alright in her class, or I really fear what she would do to me.

But as it is, I’m very worried.

“There’s been a theft.”

Triton was worried, he hasn’t contacted me since that letter.

“Keep your head down.”

I miss him, is he okay?

“Stay away from the ocean.”

I’m worried and scared, what’s going on?

“Don’t contact me.”

I need to tell someone about Ms. Dodds, I need to do something.

“Stay safe.”

What am I supposed to do?

OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Ms. Dodds almost seems to follow me around, I don’t dare use my waterbending outside of my room nowadays.

I haven’t used it much outside of my room anyways, but I played with the water in my cups and spilled some people’s drinks when they were rude.

They deserved it.

Nancy is more than happy to try to get me in trouble with Ms. Dodds though, it’s annoying. I’m not sure how to keep off her radar when Nancy tries to blame everything on me.

I’m just really glad for all of Triton’s lessons now. Triton might not be here, but his lessons still help me.

“There will be enemies you cannot match. They will be stronger than you, you will lose in a fair fight.”

Triton taught me a lot.

“There are two main paths to take. They depend on the situation.”

I don’t know if I’m treating the situation right, but I’m going to do my best.

“If you have no choice but to fight, anger them. Make them angry, mock them, tease them, attack their pride, their honor, their hair. Do whatever it takes to throw them off. An angry enemy is a dumb enemy.”

I smiled in the face of Nancy’s accusations and did my best to always be around at least two other people. I will have an alibi this year. There won’t be a repeat of previous year’s situations.

“If you can though, try to defuse the situation. Manners, sweet smiles, agreeing with them in everything they say. Don’t antagonize them, be the kindest, sweetest, most well-behaved person you can be. Make it so they don’t want to fight you.”

Ms. Dodds is scary, and I want Triton, I want the sea, I want home.

But I have to stay here, so I smile and nod and say yes ma’am and I hide my power.

I acted as ordinary as I possibly could.

I don’t think it’s working.

OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

I tried to read the ex-cursed book from first semester. It’s all in Latin though? I can’t read it very well, just picking out certain words here and there. How annoying.

The paper felt old, but it doesn’t look it? It doesn’t seem to have any power in it anymore, at least I don’t feel anything other than the constant buzz around me.

Oh well, I’ll have to get better at reading Latin to read this book I guess.

OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

I talked with Carl the fish a lot, while researching how to make him human again.

At this point I think I just need more power, the person that cursed him is stronger than me, so I have two options for undoing the curse. I could pull the curse apart at its base, but that would require me understanding how the curse was laid, and what the exact nature of the curse is, and so many details.

I learned a lot about curses, I’m so glad I had these books before whatever happened on the solstice.

The curses can be of different natures, woven ones where the curse is weaved almost like making a cloth, layered ones where it’s parts are all laid on top of the other, overwhelming ones where they just force their will on the subject, and twisting ones where they shift the nature of the object, that one is usually done for objects already enchanted though.

If you know the nature of the curse you can pick it apart, pull at woven ones until the fabric of the curse comes undone, peel the layers up one by one for layered ones, slip underneath and yank the overwhelming ones off (though it’s recommended to be sure of your skill to counter those), or just re-twist the twisting ones back to their original nature.

I thinks this one is either twisting or woven, but if I mess up doing the careful way of unwinding it then I could make it worse. Twisting a woven curse tightens it and makes it harder to undo and pulling a twisting one does the same.

So, I was probably going to do the second way, which is just plain overpowering it. But that requires a lot of power, especially if it’s twisting or woven. Those two are the hardest to undo through sheer power.

Ugh.

But Carl was at least nice to talk to, he helped me stay calm even though I have no idea what’s going on.

I should figure out how to make a bubble of water to bring him with me. That would be easier then leaving him with Gabe. I doubt it’s safe for him there. It was only safe last summer because Gabe didn’t find out about him till the very end of the summer.

Yeah, I’ll look into making a way to carry Carl.

OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

I frowned over the book on healing, and the medical kit spread out in front of me. I want to get better at healing, unfortunately I need to figure out the tools.

I picked up one of the tools, this is just the basic set but it’s so varied.

Okay, so this is treated seaweed, for binding the wounds that you can’t heal all at once. This is purification stone to cleanse the wound to make it easier to heal. The slim shell knife is for working with the wound? And for cutting the seaweed to the right length. There’s an antibacterial mix, made from… something. I don’t know how this is made, I should probably learn.

The shell paste that hardens into a cast is cool though. And the spider crab thread is cool. I didn’t know the spider crabs made thread but looking through the manual it says that’s what the thread is from. Maybe there’s a mythical one I don’t know about? There’s also a jar of enchanted fish, enchanted to sleep until you open the jar, to eat dead skin.

There are also the basics, like in any land first aid kit. Tweezers, scissors, painkillers (though these are made from a fish with paralytic abilities that cuts off pain, it’s cool), and a thermometer (though again, it’s a type of coral that’s very sensitive to changes in temperature and enchanted to live).

Then there’s some stuff I’m not sure about? I don’t know if land kits have them, the one at home doesn’t.

There’s a large soft blanket made of woven sea grasses (so soft) that has one side woven with coral shielding, the kind that keeps in heat, a type of woven mix of sea grass stuffed with anemone puff that cools rapidly when exposed to water.

The manual shows how to use it all and one of my extra books shows how to combine them with healing. It’s interesting, I just wish I had someone to practice it on. I’ll just have to try it with minor injuries that I get?

I sighed, oh well. It’ll come in handy some day I’m sure.

OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Mr. Brunner is acting strangely as well.

I saw Mr. Brunner and Ms. Dodds talking, well, actually it sounded more like threatening each other from where I was standing.

I still don’t know if Mr. Brunner is safe, but he doesn’t have the itch of a curse on him. So maybe he’s okay.

He certainly seems safer than Ms. Dodds.

Mr. Brunner has started teaching us how to hold swords during lessons.

I don’t like any of the swords, they don’t feel right.

But some of them have that feel to them, a buzz in my head. They aren’t normal, they definitely have magic of some kind.

The one Mr. Brunner uses has the most powerful feeling, and it reminds me of Elei’s trident, made in the ocean of her power. Made of her.

I’m pretty sure that sword is of the ocean.

I pretend I don’t know that Mr. Brunner has what’s likely the essence of a being of the sea, even though it makes me ache. It’s just like Elei’s, what if there’s a being out there missing their essence?

I smile and nod again, hiding my fear, my worry, my anger.

Triton will be upset if I fall apart just because I can’t see Triton.

OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

I stood at the edge of the pit again. This time there was someone else there, though I can’t see them.

I could feel something I hadn’t noticed before, sliding sand, soft and soothing, prickling over my hands, pinpricks of warmth and a feeling of numbness. The feelings together are strange, a bit uncomfortable, but they don’t bother me too much.

“-rry Master. I couldn’t get it to you, but I won’t fail again! I will find a way to let it reach you, I swear it.”

“Your failure has put back our plans by quite a bit, I now must expend energy to keep the wayward god under my control, I do not have the power to spare yet.”

“I know, I- I have no excuse. I failed you because of my own arrogance.”

The voice murmured something, I think it’s the Thalozan language, which is really, really, old but Triton knows a few words and taught me them.

I have no idea what the voice is saying though, I just recognize the sounds.

“I will make arrangements, return to your sleep.”

“Yes Master.”

There was a faint whisper, then the other presence was gone.

There were more faint murmurs in the other language, possibly Thalozan? Before it suddenly went silent.

“Ah, I see you’ve returned little Half-blood.”

“It’s Percy,” I reminded.

The low chuckle returned, “Indeed.”

I heard a faint murmur, “Fainter, less than before, not sure,” before he hummed, “How-“

I woke up.

OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

I hate the stupid detention I’m stuck in.

I didn’t do anything! But Nancy Bobfit decided to blame me for stealing something, and my alibi didn’t work.

I have to clean the classroom for this detention, I’m pretty sure I’m just supposed to sit quietly in a room and listen to a lecture for an hour, but Ms. Dodds doesn’t go by normal rules.

So, I’m stuck in that room, with a rag and a spray bottle, reluctantly cleaning the room.

I’m staying polite though, I’m not going to let Nancy ruin all my hard work at making Ms. Dodds not kick me out at the first opportunity.

I sprayed the desk and wiped it down, this is nowhere near as hard as cleaning the river. I’ll be fine.

“Now honey,” Ms. Dodds started, “You know why you’re here yes?”

Ms. Dodds was apparently an expert at torture.

A faint buzz nudged at my senses.

The next hour was spent with her subtle implications that I’m a horrible thief, shouldn’t be in the school, brings shame to everyone, am a horrible person, and am probably cheating and she just couldn’t prove it yet.

It was getting harder and harder to resist the urge to lash out. But I need to keep my temper.

OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

I blinked in the room I’m in, looking around.

I’m back in the undersea palace, Oceanus’s palace.

I’m in my probable dad’s palace.

…

I should look around.

For… research… yeah.

I promptly left the room to explore more.

It’s pretty, I like the walls, covered with glittering murals. I passed an opening and stared in awe at the dark waters filled with lantern fish and other glowing beings.

I decided I like it, it’s comfortable in a different way than the places I’ve been with Triton.

“Back again I see.”

I whipped around to see Oceanus there once more.

“Er… Hi.”

Dumb, stupid, idiot, don’t just say hi!

I quickly twisted my hand into the proper motion of respect.

Oceanus’s lips twitched.

“Perhaps introduce yourself first this time little half-blood, you have the unfortunate habit of disappearing before you can.”

“Ah, yeah… sorry.”

He raised an eyebrow, looking at me expectantly.

“Oh uh, I’m Percy Ja-“

“Oceanus! Who is that presence? Where does it keep coming from!?”

I decided I should resign myself to being entirely unable to ever introduce myself to my probable dad.

Maybe he just hasn’t gotten a chance to see me in a while? So, he doesn’t know what I looked like?

I hope so.

“Tethys, my love, that presence would be this young Half-Blood.” Oceanus motioned to me.

I bit my lip but ignored the pang in my chest at Oceanus calling Tethys his love, of course he would! Tethys is his wife, even if my mom is amazing and incredible and deserves the whole world, Oceanus wouldn’t have married his wife if he didn’t love her.

The Titans didn’t do that nonsense like the gods did.

The mermaid that approached was familiar, it’s the one I saw in my first dream to the undersea palace. A feeling of just general clean washed over me, curling currents swaying over my skin, interrupting the cold deep currents that I hadn’t even realized I felt.

Her tail the flowiest of any, glittering brilliantly in silvers and blues.

“Oh? The little half-blood from a few months ago.”

I quickly gave her the proper motion of respect.

Her lips twitched like Oceanus’s, “And who might you be little Half-Blood?”

“I’m Percy Ja-“

I woke up.

Why me.

OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

We’re going on a fieldtrip!

I hate fieldtrips!

Yay!

OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

I sat next to Grover, resisting the urge to drown Nancy.

Murder is bad, murder is bad, murder is ba-

Another sandwich piece in Grover’s hair…

Maybe murder wasn’t so bad.

“Don’t, you don’t need to get in trouble with Ms. Dodds here, she has it out for you.”

Grover was holding my arm.

He clearly could tell that I’m ready to fight Nancy.

I scowled but stayed seated.

“She needs to get some taste, peanut butter and ketchup sandwiches in your hair? She might as well just toss her lunch in the trash.”

“Ha just stay calm and hope Ms. Dodds doesn’t see anything.”

I sighed, “Fine.”

It’s probably for the best that Grover stopped me, Triton would be disappointed in me if I let my temper win over in a fight that I can’t win with it.

You’re not supposed to get angry, you’re supposed to make your opponent angry.

I sighed and forced myself to not snap and drown Nancy with the water from my waterskin when she threw another piece of her sandwich at Grover.

This was going to be a long fieldtrip.

OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

See, I like fieldtrips, in theory.

They could be really fun! But things keep happening on them and well… I’m extremely wary of fieldtrips now.

I tried to not be worried, Mr. Brunner is running this trip after all.

I’m still not sure if he’s trustworthy, but he still doesn’t seem to mean me any harm. Grover nervously wrung his hands now that we were out of the bus.

Ms. Dodds walked right behind the two of us, I worked very hard to keep a happy expression on my face. Don’t need her getting on us about being suspicious or something. That would be bad.

We walked through the museum, Mr. Brunner leading us.

I smiled as I studied the different displays. It wasn’t as cool as what’s under the sea, but it was still pretty impressive.

Oceanus’s palace was cooler though.

My eye twitched as annoying students kept talking and interrupting Mr. Brunner. I was having a hard time hearing his explanation.

I resisted the urge to tell them to shut up, that would get a look from Ms. Dodds, and I did not need that.

Mr. Brunner moved on to talking about some funeral art, explaining the significance and-

“It’s just a naked guy on a wall,” snickered Nancy.

I sighed, “It’s not just a naked guy on a wall, it’s a stele, as Mr. Brunner said it’s a column of stone that has the image of the god that the girl that it once served as the gravestone for worshipped. Honestly if your brain wasn’t the same size as a jellyfish’s then you’d know that Nancy.”

The group laughed as Nancy flushed, glaring at me.  Mr. Brunner paused in his story.

“Did you have a comment Mr. Jackson?”

“No sir, sorry for interrupting.” I flushed slightly, whoops.

He nodded then pointed to one of the pictures on the stele, “Perhaps you’ll tell us what this picture represents?”

I brightened, “That would be the Titan King Kronos, the Titan of Time and Agriculture, eating his kids the gods.”

Mr. Brunner nodded, but made a motion with his hand, “And he did this because…”

I bounced on my feet, resisting the urge to smile, “He got a prophecy that said his child would overthrow him, so he ate his children to prevent it. But then his wife, Rhea the Titaness of motherhood, gave him a rock instead of feeding him his youngest, Zeus. Then Zeus grew up, raised in secret by some nymphs, and he tricked Kronos into throwing up-“

“Gross!” A few kids muttered.

“-his other kids by feeding him a mustard and wine mix. Then the gods got together and ended up over throwing him. They cut him into a lot of tiny pieces and threw the pieces into Tartarus.”

Behind me, Nancy Bobofit mumbled to a friend, “Like we’re going to use this in real life. Like it’s going to say on our job applications, ‘Please explain why Kronos ate his kids.’”

“And why, Mr. Jackson,” Mr. Brunner started, “to paraphrase Miss Bobofit’s excellent question, does this matter in real life?”

Grover snickered softly, “Busted.”

“Shut up,” Nancy hissed, her face even brighter red than her hair.

Just more proof to me that Mr. Brunner wasn’t human, I could barely hear her, and I was right next to her.

“Because we can learn from the mistakes of the past to improve ourselves in the present, and it’s also just very interesting.”

Mr. Brunner nodded, though he didn’t seem fully pleased, “That’s very nearly correct Mr. Jackson. Full credit. Zeus did indeed feed Kronos a mixture of mustard and wine, which made him disgorge his other five children, who, of course, being immortal gods, had been living and growing up completely undigested in the Titan’s stomach. The gods defeated their father, sliced him to pieces with his own scythe, and scattered his remains in Tartarus, the darkest part of the Underworld. On that happy note, it’s time for lunch. Ms. Dodds, would you lead us back outside?”

The class drifted off to follow Ms. Dodds. Some of the girls were holding their stomachs, most of the guys were shoving each other and acting like doofuses.

“Mr. Jackson,” Mr. Brunner’s call stopped me from going too.

I paused, turning to him, nudging Grover onward.

“Sir?”

Mr. Brunner looked at me solemnly from an ancient gaze, another point towards him not being human.

“You must learn the answer to my question,” he said seriously.

I chewed my lip, I know what it means, but I also can’t know more until Triton says so. He said it’s dangerous, so I would listen.

“Yes sir.”

“What you learn from me,” he continued, “is vitally important. I expect you to treat it as such. I will accept only the best from you, Percy Jackson.”

I wanted to get angry, it’s unreasonable of him to hold me to higher standards than the rest of the students. It’s frustrating! I tried as hard as I could, and he was a better teacher than many I’d had, but…

I glared at the ground as I nodded, I tried so hard to learn all the names and match them to the proper facts and make sure it was spelled right. It’s so hard to do in English!

I don’t know who he is, if he’s safe or a threat, but I’m so frustrated that he’s holding me to these standards and no one else.

He told me to go outside and eat my lunch as he stared at the stele mournfully.

I wonder if he killed the girl?

OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

I stepped outside to see Grover waiting for me right by the door.

I idly noticed Nancy and her friends (I know it’s shocking that she has any) standing nearby too. A storm was forming outside.

We started walking past the fountain, right next to the stairs.

“Detention?” Grover asked as we reached the stairs.

I put my hand on the fountain as I took the first step, “Nah, not-“

“Whoops.”

And Grover was falling.

Nancy laughed, her hand out.

Grover was falling.

My vision went red, roaring in my ears as I yanked.

A scream from Nancy, a cry from Grover.

When I could see again Grover was alright, if soaked.

Nancy was gasping for breath in the fountain, looking like a drowned rat.

The other students were gaping.

“The water-“

“It just reached out-“

“Did you see that?”

“Percy pushed me!” Nancy finally gets the air to speak.

I ignored her, moving to check on Grover.

He coughed, rubbing his butt, but otherwise seemed okay.

My chest loosened. Thank goodness.

“Now honey-“ Ms. Dodds had appeared.

I glared up at her, did she not see what just happened.

“Come with me,” She said.

“Wait!” Grover yelped, “He was just trying to help me!”

Ms. Dodds looked down at him, “Violence is never the answer Mr. Underwood.”

“But-“

“You – will – stay – here.”

I shook my head when Grover looked at me worriedly, pulling my waterskin out of my bag and fingering my trident charm.

“Hold my bag? I’ll be back soon.”

Ms. Dodds turned and walked back up the stairs, “Honey, Now.”

I swallowed and followed, shooting my deluxe I’ll-kill-you-later stare that Triton helped me master at Nancy.

I looked back to Ms. Dodds and was unsurprised to see her at the top of the steps.

The buzz around her was weakening, and the itch of the not-curse was getting stronger. She’s going to attack me.

I walked up the steps regardless, better away from everyone.

She kept going deeper into the museum. When I finally caught up we were back in the Greek and Roman section.

She stood with her arms crossed in from of a big marble frieze of the Greek gods. She was also growling low in her throat.

I swallowed.

“You’ve been giving us problems, honey,” She snarled.

The buzzing was fading, the itch making me want to scratch my arms.

I raised my chin, slid my “princely” face on, and responded, “I’m sorry for any problems I’ve caused Ms. Dodds.”

I held the waterskin tightly, one finger pressed on the lid.

“Did you really think you would get away with it? Or that a simple apology would pardon the crime?”

She looked angry, furious. Her face was creased, I could almost see the change that was starting, the buzz was almost non-existent.

“I don’t understand Ms. Dodds, what crime am I being accused of?”

Thunder boomed as the storm that had been brewing outside broke.

“We are not fools Percy Jackson,” Ms. Dodds continued. “It was only a matter of time before we found you out. Confess, and you will suffer less pain.”

I frowned, there was only one thing I know that has happened lately that she could be accusing me of.

A theft.

Of what, I don’t know, but she seems to be blaming me for it.

My heart sank.

“Ma’am, I’m sorry, I- I don’t think I did whatever you’re accusing me of.”

“Is that your final answer?”

I twisted the lid, “Yes ma’am.”

Then the buzz was gone, and the itch grew almost unbearable.

Her eyes began to glow and then her fingers stretched, turning into talons. Her jacket melted into large, leathery wings.

She turned into a fury!

Uh oh.

I flicked the lid off in one quick move, but before I could call the water, Mr. Brunner wheeled through the doorway of the gallery, holding a pen that positively sung with magic.

“What ho, Percy!” he shouted, and tossed the pen through the air.

Ms. Dodds lunged at me.

I dodged, snatching the ballpoint pen out of the air. I know this tone of magic.

The sword of the sea was in my hand.

Ms. Dodds spun towards me with a snarl and murder in her eyes, “Die honey!”

I went by the instincts that Triton had drilled into me, letting one hand flick out to send a water whip snapping around Ms. Dodds and yanking her to the side the other bringing the sword down right into her shoulder.

It passed clean through her body with a hiss.

She exploded into yellow powder, vaporized on the spot.

All that remained was a claw.

OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

I walked towards the entrance of the museum again, a buzz was itching at my senses, the same buzz that surrounded Mr. Brunner and Ms. Dodds. Only much louder and much more spread out.

The pen that was a sword that was a pen that was of the sea was clutched in my hand.

I was shaking.

That was the first monster I’d actually fought, the empousai from before doesn’t count.

Triton was going to be furious.

I paused before opening the doors, taking a moment to choke back the sob that wanted to break out.

I want to go home, I want Triton, I want my mom.

I hate this, I hate this, I hate this.

I closed my eyes and pulled the “princely” face on.

I can break down later, to Carl. He won’t judge.

I swallowed once more and took a step forward, opening the doors.

Grover was sitting by the fountain, still wet from me using the water to slow his fall.

Nancy Bobofit was standing soaked from her swim in the fountain, grumbling to her ‘friends’. When she saw me, she gave me an ugly grin.

“I hope Mrs. Kerr whipped your butt.”

I frowned, “Who?”

The buzz grew worse.

“Our teacher. Duh!”

I frowned, is this a spell? Because I killed Ms. Dodds they replaced her with a spell?

The buzz had settled across all the students, but it was still itching at me. I really wanted to cover my ears, it wasn’t quite a sound by it was extremely disconcerting.

I turned away from Nancy, I was too angry with her anyways.

If I stay near her I might try to recreate turning Carl from a guinea pig to a fish.

I focused on Grover, who sucks at lying and who didn’t have an irritating buzz about him.

“Where’s Ms. Dodds.”

He faltered, looking away.

“Who?”

I held back the urge to roll my eyes or scream or cry.

“Nevermind.”

I snatched up my bag and slipped the pen into it. It’s of the sea, and Mr. Brunner gave it to me willingly. If he wants it back, he can ask. Then he can answer my questions.

I sat down on the fountain and pulled out my lunch.

This year is a trainwreck.

[hillnerd]

I read your fanfic The Wonderful Won Won and I really liked the christmas at the Burrow scene, and I am sorry for bugging you with all these questions but, what was going through Percy’s head during this all. And I literally just thought of this, but wouldn’t this be the first time Percy would see Ron’s brain scars? Ok i’m sorry i’m like hyper focused on Percy right now. I have a lot of questions. Again sorry for bugging you.

Oh I'm so glad you liked 'The Wonderful Won Won'! :) And I actually love it when people message me questions about fics or canon! Keep em coming! :)

So as far as Percy in this scene, Percy starts out being stiff and cold with his family when he arrives with Shacklebolt because it's the easiest thing to do. By being aloof and trying not to engage with them he can keep his standing with the Minister (remember he really wants to appear professional/competent at all times- and an emotional scene would very much undercut that.) He is feeling SO many emotions though. He's still angry at his father and family for a lot of things, he's a bit afraid that his mum hugging him and showing so much love might make him cave and just forgive them all and let bygones be bygones (which is partially why he's rejecting her all the time- he's in a prideful snit and definitely doesn't want his carefully built emotional walls tumbled by her.) 

But as for what he's feeling throughout the scene- let's take a took at it:

Mum was trying to give him another hug, but his brother twisted out of her outstretched arms without a glance at their mother. Percy’s eyes ignored the entire family, and were trained on the door he desperately wanted to flee through. He’d never particularly wanted to spend time with the family, but this was a whole new level of coldness.

“How dare you!” Dad exploded just seconds after the door closed. “Using us to hand Harry over to the Minister? We raised you better than this.”

“The hell, Percy?” “You’re a right prat!” cried the Twins. Ron didn’t care which said what.

He wanted an explanation from his brother. Even a glance of regret would suffice. Anything to justify selling out Harry the way he had. Percy remained perfectly still, his jaw clenched as he silently weathered their words.

He's always felt like an outsider with his family, and almost immediately it's clear that they are choosing Harry over him and that they have little respect for Percy. He is angry as hell, but trying his hardest to keep it under wraps so he can get out of there the moment the Minister says they can leave.

“Percy?” Remus' calm and soft-spoken voice broke the tension. “What does the Minister want with Harry?”

For the first time since he’d entered the Burrow, Percy made eye contact with someone.

“You’re not my professor anymore, Mr. Lupin, and I don’t have to answer any questions about this matter,” Percy let out rather succinctly.

Percy likes to think of himself as better than his brothers- and part of it is that he's polite, while they are not. Thus he answers Lupin-- as best as one can and in a very decorous and professional manner.

“And that’s all you have to say for yourself?” said Dad rising from the table, looking furious. “That’s the only explanation you’re giving us? I never thought I’d live to see my own son act like such a coward.”

“Now, Arthur!” Mum pleaded, trying to keep the peace, but she was too late.

Percy was staring Dad dead in the eye and the two were getting closer to each other with Mum in between.

“I’m no coward! I’m demonstrating my diligence and showing loyalty to the Ministry, which is much more than you’ve been doing!”

Saying 'coward' to a Gryffindor is like waving a red flag in front of a bull. The twins can try their best to get Percy angry- but NO ONE can pierce through it all better than his father. Percy has years of deep seated resentment with his dad, and the whole reason he left the family was his dad-- he truly hates that his dad is labelled a disloyal dumbledore follower.. He hates that he has to contend with his father's reputation and is worried it will destroy everything Percy's worked so hard for. And he hates that his father, whose opinion he once held so dear, truly has no pride in his son at all. 

“Loyalty?” said Dad. his ears going red, voice dropping to a frozen whisper.  “You’ve turned your back on every single value we’ve raised you with, and every single one of us. You can’t prioritize a job over the well-being of your family, as you have.”

“That’s big talk for a man that always put his job over his family’s well-being. We could barely afford new shoes and school supplies, but hey, Arthur Weasley got to have fun piddling about with Muggles. You never stop to think about the impact of that, do you? We were all in rags through Hogwarts, and Ron even had a broken wand for a year, but you didn’t even try to replace it--”

Here it is. That deepseated resentment hes been building since he was a kid. Of all the Weasley kids, Percy was the one who most resented the look and feel of being poor, who most resented the impact of it on himself and his siblings, and who most felt that their poverty was a CHOICE by Arthur. He saw his father's job as silly, and failed to see how important Arthur's job was for muggle-wizard relations- and how much respect his father DOES have in the Ministry. He failed to take in what was really important because he kept prioritizing 'rich people success'- that was prestigious, in fine robes, had power and money. He felt he could pursue it and remain morally superior to his father. You're SUPPOSED to be loyal to the ministry, you're SUPPOSED to have ambition, you're SUPPOSED to prioritize your own family over random people. 

And you know what? Percy isn't entirely in the wrong. At times Arthur wasn't as there for his family as he could have been. There are ways he could have prioritized his kids a bit more, and protected them more-- But in the end Arthur is FAR MORE in the right on this. And deep down Percy knows that. 

“Leave me out of this!” Ron cried out, but neither of them spared him a glance.

“You don’t know the first thing about loyalty to friends or family, Percy. You betrayed them every day you ignored our warnings about Voldemort for a year, and did little to check in with any of us when you knew our lives were in danger.”

“You know what? I was wrong to say you care most about your job,” Percy said so quietly, Ron could barely hear it. “I saw how little you cared about your job last year, with all the skulking about the Department of Mysteries for Dumbledore… And then, five months later, two of your kids nearly died there because they were following Harry around in that same place. I guess it goes Dumbledore, job, Harry Potter, then the welfare of your children?”

“Oh you suddenly care about your siblings, do you? Is that why you’ve not contacted any of them, even after your youngest nearly died?”

“At least I wasn’t involving them in dangerous business kids shouldn’t be involved in! What were you even doing for Dumbledore?”

“That is business for family to know about. Seeing as you don’t want to be a member of our family anymore, I will not answer any questions about this matter!” Dad seethed, his face quite red as he poked Percy in the chest. “Unless your attitude changes you are not welcome here.”

“Oh, believe me, I don’t want to be welcome in this crumbling antique of a pig’s pen. I don’t want to spend one more second with any of --”

Before Percy could finish his sentence mashed parsnips flew at him from several directions, some splattering his glasses. No one laughed as mash dripped down his face. Percy went purple.

“Fine! It’s all a great big joke to you all! I work as hard as I can to make something of myself, fighting off the horrible reputation Dad’s made for us, calling him out for things you’re all too cowardly to say. I work so damned hard, and none of you ever care or give an ounce of credit to me. You treat Potter more like family than you ever did me and eff off to piddle around with that Machiavellian Dumbledore. You’ll see how wrong you’ve been and you’re all going to be sor--”

^pretty self explanatory, that part ^

Percy’s words were cut off by a silencing spell. Bill was holding his wand aloft and looking as angry as Ron had ever seen him.

“You’re not going to say one more thing about this family,” Bill said with piercing deliberation. “Now shut it and wait for your boss to come get you.”

Mum let out a sob as Percy silently stomped out the door, not bothering to wipe the parsnip mash from himself. 

Being humiliated is Percy's worst fear, pretty much. And he's been very much humiliated- his father's words (calling percy coward, disloyal, not part of the family; choosing Harry over Percy etc) how his siblings were cursing at him and throwing food at him, and Bill (the eldest and most respected sibling) cutting him off and almost saying Percy isn't part of the family (while also making it clear that Percy isn't there for anything noble- he's being a henchman for his boss.)

After all this Percy has to wipe his face off next to his irrate boss- has to stand by and listen to Harry and his family get dragged through the mud- and his anger towards them no longer seems to bite at him the same. 

Somehow Percy feels sadness, loneliness, and a touch of self-loathing? But that’s nonsense of course! He was completely justified in everything he said and did... wasn’t he? 

[fandom-oracle]

to die upon a kiss

title: to die upon a kiss fandom: heroes of olympus, percy jackson and the olympians. characters: jason grace, octavian, dakota, gwendolyn, bobby, several backrgound characters from camp jupiter, one mention of reyna. relationships: jason/octavian tws: potential gore, somewhat graphic depictions of death and injuries (posting this because @petiri thought it was good and who am I to disobey the roman prequel overlords)

He closed his eyes, hands instinctively moving to cover his forehead in a strange amalgam of shame, frustration, and fear. He closed the map that laid on the unadorned wooden table he’d just been resting his arms on, mustering up the courage to face the circle of nine other people in front of him. 

Ida stared back at him, calm as she always was. Jason could recall the centurion of the Second Cohort since he was a child. She was some five years older than him, member of one of New Rome’s older clans. A descendant of Luna, even. All he could think of was the taste of the blueberry ice cream they always went for after the training sessions she’d put him on since he was ten, a memory somehow more intense than all the times he’d been made to cough up blood. Larry, her fellow centurion, put his hand on her shoulder, but Jason suspected it was more for his own sake than hers. 

Hank and Marcus were older than the rest of them, in their mid-twenties, and Jason vaguely remembered that Hank was planning on running for senator next year. Their presence gave the younger centurions little comfort, they’d always been rather distant, acting as if their eyes were covered by fog, and it frustrated him to look up at them and realize truly how little they saw. Looking at Leila’s confident smile gave Jason some warmth, but he knew all too well she was faking it; like she did when they’d worked together in his first war games and they just knew the fourth and fifth were going to lose. 

Dakota should’ve been there too, though everyone knew he was off getting drunk with the cadets, and Jason couldn’t fault him for that. Instead, Michael Kahale’s handsome face looked back at him from the far corner of the room, but Jason only had eyes for the boy to the left of him. 

Looking at Octavian like that made Jason’s breath hitch for a second, and he’d fought his hardest not to scream out of his lungs for him to go away. The idea of a single cut on his skin, painting the pale marble red, felt like a punch to Jason’s guts. He didn’t say anything, though. Octavian wouldn’t appreciate that, and Jason understood why. They were members of the Twelfth Legion, and were well aware that death was a possibility when they’d made that choice. 

Was it really fair? A part of Jason would ask. They were innocent little kids playing dress up last year. They weren’t soldiers, they couldn’t have known it would turn out like this. 

He stifled these thoughts. Fairness was irrelevant.

-----

He’d be lying to himself if he said his decision to have Octavian’s troops complement his column wasn’t a little self serving, but looking at him as he bled on the otherwise beautiful garden of the Hesperides, he had never been less remorseful. 

Octavian had left the formation with a number of members of the First Cohort to take out a the skirmishers at strategic spots in the pathway to the top of Mount Othrys, in order to minimize the number of infantry deaths and especially to avoid compromising Michael Kahale’s and Marcus’ testudo shield formations making their way to the Titans’ throne room. The main infantry column caught up to them and Jason, leading it, came across the bleeding bodies of Octavian and three others of his men. 

“Gwen!” He shouted, and she left the formation to attend to him. “Take over my spot, I’ve got to take care of something. Just remember to steer clear of Ladon and the Tree.” 

“Okay, Grace!” She assented, running to the front of the column and leading it, which left Jason free to concern himself with the wounded. 

“Get out of here, Jason.” Octavian’s voice was quiet, and he’d been wounded in the outer thigh. “You have more important things to worry about than the four of us.”

Jason ignored him, wrapping a severed piece of his sleeve onto the wound. He wasn’t particularly good at first aid, but thankfully the bleeding wasn’t too hard to tend to. 

“Can you walk?” He looked into Octavian’s dark eyes, trying his hardest to ignore the look of murder he was being given. He then looked toward the other three wounded legionnaires. Marilyn, Carl, and Julius, he recalled. 

“Octavian’s right.” Marilyn said, wiping blood off of her hands on the black walls of the nightmarish fortress. “We’ll be fine, we took out all of their ambushers. You’re too important to die here.” 

He felt himself get a little flustered, which was wildly inappropriate given the context they were in. Part of him knew she was right; as the son of Jupiter, he might be the only one with the firepower to destroy the Titans’ throne and sever their connection to the mortal realm. It was the job they went here to do. The job Octavian had damn nearly sacrificed his life to ensure he was able to do. 

But that didn’t mean he had to feel good about it. Jason hated the thought of being spared or given special treatment due to his… father. Just the thought of the word made him almost wince. 

“Plus, Octavian got hit the worst. I can walk, and Marilyn too. Carl took an arrow to his foot and passed out. He’s out of commission but he’s going to live.” Julius, a son of Mars, stated nonchalantly, which did little to alleviate Jason’s guilt. He was bleeding a lot from his side, but it did seem like a superficial cut, and Marilyn’s eye had gotten stabbed, but she’d managed to bandage it herself. 

So this is what we’ve turned to? He pondered in guilt. They shouldn’t be here.  

“I think it might be for the best.” Jason tried to rationalize his actions, hoping that none of them would notice his true motivations for wanting to stick around. “For some reason, the signal corps haven’t caught wind of any Titans guarding the fortress. Their security has been weirdly lax, and I’m starting to suspect they’re either being worn thin at the flanks or they might have been keeping most of their security at the throne room. Strange strategy, but it would make sense for them to underestimate us. Regardless, I think the infantry’s going to take the brunt of their attack. It might be best for me to sneak in and rejoin the formation at the top.” 

He let out a breath he hadn’t even noticed he was holding, relieved that Julius and Marilyn seemed to accept his excuse and went ahead of him inside the gates of the fortress’ third floor. The truth is, if he was going to die, he might as well die fighting besides Octavian, whose he’d flung across his back carefully. 

He was surprised how little he weighed. Octavian was a talented fighter, it’d never have occurred to jason he was so thin. 

“Seriously, you asshole.” Octavian huffed, still out of breath. “At least let me walk on my own. You’re going to get both of us killed like this!” 

Jason put him down, and the boy seemed to compose himself enough to walk despite his injury. The pair was soon engulfed by the oppressive shadows of the Titans’ lair, the only noise around them being the steps of Julian and Marilyn about three yards ahead of them. The corridor they were in was narrow, though tall, and they could stand beside each other, if a little too close. The exposed skin of Jason’s now sleeveless arm brushing against that of Octavian’s sending an electric sensation across his body, almost dwarfing the dreadful smell of blood, sweak, poisonous fumes and wet stone that surrounded them. 

He took Octavian’s hand on his own, and sensed the boy get stiff, though he couldn’t see him. 

“Not here.” Octavian said, sounding outwardly annoyed, though Jason knew him well enough to recognize the longing underneath his words. “Not now.” 

Jason didn’t argue, and instead, they kept walking, catching up to Marilyn and Julian, who were acting as pickets. Fortunately, all they ran into was a handful of dracaena that were easily taken down, two of which by Octavian himself. As Jason’s eyes adjusted to the darkness, he was entranced by how he’d confidently thrust his gladius upon the monster, how the blood stained the clothes he was wearing under his armor and even his blonde hair was covered with little wisps of red that almost looked like a twisted version of a halo. 

He didn’t know wether to be horrified or mesmerized. 

After about half an hour of small skirmishes that they managed to make out of mostly unscathed, Bobby, one of Jason’s oldest friends, appeared in a corridor, bleeding out from his stomach. He’d been acting as a signal corps, carrying messages across the battlefield. 

“Jason!” He  shouted with the little strength he had left, then soberly delivered the message that would become his last words.  “The front column managed to break through the gates to the throne room. They’re fighting the titan Krios; Kahale’s troops have managed to reach them, but Hank’s are still stuck fighting an offensive phalanx. Commander Gwendolyn is request that all troops rendezvous at the main hall ASAP.” 

And with that, he closed his eyes, breathing becoming more ragged by the second. 

“Bobby.” Jason commanded with a calm he did not feel. “Stay with us, Bobby!” 

“He’s dying.” Octavian said, Julius and Marilyn nodding in return. “There’s nothing you can do, you heard him. Let’s go, we’re almost at the throne room.” 

“I’m not letting him die!” He yelled in return, grateful for the dark that still obscured his glistening eyes, though he didn’t bother fighting Octavian’s pragmatism. 

“Julius, you take the left, and Marilyn, you go right: warn any leftover troops to drop what they’re doing and try to make it to the throne room. If we can secure a victory there, this whole place will collapse anyway. Go!” Jason grimaced at the ease with which the words came to him.

-----

“We’re here” Octavian said, though Jason had no idea how he knew that. Was it his gift of prophecy? It didn’t matter. The collapsed floor let through just enough moonlight that Jason could see cracks through Octavian’s emotionless façade. His eyes were tearing up too, and Jason couldn’t stop himself from putting his hands across Octavian’s face. 

“We’re going to be okay.” Jason tried to believe in his own words. “We’re going to be alright. And tomorrow, we’ll be back in New Rome, and we’ll be listening to Dakota getting drunk and embellishing the stories of what happened, and, and Reyna grunting whenever anyone tries to ask about her heroics. And... and…”

“Shut up, Jason.” Octavian took him by the collar of the shirt underneath his breastplate, kissing him like there was no tomorrow, and for all they knew there might not be. Jason tried not to look dumbfounded as a result, but he yearned to take refuge in his arms instead of walking to what might be his death. 

“I need to go.” Jason said, poorly disguising a mournful tone. 

“Are you coming back?” Octavian raised an eyebrow, refusing to betray his true fears. Jason thought it amusing, and for a small second, he flashed a smile, brimming of a confidence he didn’t have that things would be alright. 

“For you?” Jason said, entlanging their hands together. “Always.”

[dyde21]

Princess 2: Poison

Hey! So this is the other chapter from the Princess!AU I had going. It isn’t sequential, and takes place much farther in the future. Percabeth is an established thing, has been for a while. Again, this won’t be a series any time soon, you guys just requested the other chapter I had in mind, and this was it! More after! Oh, and shoutout to @cakesnomnom for convincing me to actually write it up.

XxXxXxXxX

Annabeth peaked out the window with a sigh, watching the forest pass by them as they trotted along. Now normally, Annabeth would have preferred to ride out in front on a horse with them, next to Percy, but he had thrown a fit. They were traveling to a neutral village to have peace talks with their neighboring country. They had been in a slow war for a few years now, neither side willing to fully invest themselves into a massive assault.

Hence, the fact that they were traveling outside of the safety of their borders.

Percy, being the overprotective boyfriend/knight he was, refused to let her ride out in the open. Now while she had the authority to do whatever she wanted, she was the princess after all, it was clear how much it worried him. He had started rambling on about ambushes, archers, traps. He had even started warning her about the dangers of poison ivy. To shut him up, and get rid of her least favorite expression he wore, one of concern and fear, she had kissed him and agreed to ride in the carriage. At least once they had crossed the border.

So now here they were, just a few minutes outside of the village. Percy had put his helmet back on, and was riding in the front. Unfortunately. Annabeth hated that helmet. When he wore it, she couldn't see his expressions, his messy hair, her favorite smirk. Most importantly, it hid his beautiful eyes. She had actually ordered him to never wear the helmet unless they were in some sort of official or public business. Luckily he didn't seem to mind, claimed it was too stuffy anyway.

Annabeth was about to get out and just ride the rest of her way when she heard his voice cut through the forest.

“HOLD!” His voice was clear and precise. “Jason, Frank, on Annabeth.” He ordered as he hopped off the horse.

Peering out the window curiously, Annabeth's hand grabbed her sword just in case. The hell if she was going to be protected while she sat in a little box while her friends risked their lives. Looking farther down the lane, Annabeth's heart skipped a beat. There was a little girl, her back against a tree as she sobbed, two thugs looming over her. She couldn't hear the conversation, but they said something, the girl flinched, then Percy stepped up. Words were exchanged, and Percy glanced back, as if asking for permission.

Hardly debating a moment, Annabeth nodded, as she placed her sword back down and rested her arm on the window to watch. Percy said something to the thugs, who both drew their swords. A few minutes later both of them were on the ground, and Percy was stowing his sword as he turned to the little girl. The little girl said something, and Percy knelt down. A small smile played at Annabeth's lip as she saw him speak to her, before rustling her hair, then she wrapped her arms around his neck in a hug. A warmth spread through Annabeth's chest. Percy really was good with kids, and some part of her imagined seeing him with kids of their own. Blushing, and shaking out her head, she saw him walking back. Eating... something. Quirking an eyebrow, she looked on until she saw he was munching happily on an apple. “She was delivering them to her grandparents. Made me take one as thanks for saving her.” He offered with a shrug. He climbed back on the horse, and soon the caravan was finishing up the last few minuets of the journey. Realizing she actually had to get back into princess mode, Annabeth took a deep breath and pushed idle thoughts of domestic life out of her mind.

They were dealing with the kingdom of Tartarus. Where luke had fled after he betrayed them. Still, they needed this war over. It was costing too many lives, and there was little prospect for either side actually winning in any meaningful way.

The air had been tense as they made their way through the village. Everyone could tell it was a royal caravan, and no one dared tried anything risky. Especially those who recognized some of the elite members of the Olympian army guarding the princess.

When the caravan finally wound to a halt, Annabeth made sure her crown was on just right, and settled her necklace properly. A gift from Percy after their first year knowing each other.

The door opened, and Percy was standing there, hand outstretched as he helped her out of the carriage. Hardly needed, but they were in public and their image was important. It had never been confirmed to the public that they were an item, but there certain had been rumors flying around for a while now. Ones she hadn't exactly denied overtly. It was just better to stay quiet, for both of them, until a more opportune time presented itself. No matter how much she just wanted to brag about her boyfriend, and use him as a shield from the annoying suitors that held no interest in her other than what rested on top of her head, and between her legs.

No, it was all proper and formal procedure as they were lead to the neutral grounds for the negotiations, and as they began. Both Annabeth, and one of the princes from Tartarus sat in the room, each allowed a single guard, the rest waited outside. There was no question who Annabeth chose, but she didn't recognize the guard of compatriot. Which was both good, and bad. Glad he didn't seem to be famous enough for a legacy, but unknown factors were always scary.

It seemed like her fears were for naught though, as the negotiations had passed without a hitch. They hadn't exactly reached a clear agreement yet, but it seemed both kingdoms tired of the war, and the drain it put on them, and were both looking to settle. It would take some more time, and some more consultations with the heads of each country respectively, but Annabeth felt hopeful.

“I guess that concludes talks for the day.” The man said with a yawn, rolling up his scroll of notes and passing it off to his guard to hold. Annabeth neatly closed her book and wrapped the cord around it as she tucked it into her bag. She trusted Percy with her life, her heart, and her kingdom. But damn if she trusted him with anything she needed him to keep in his possession for more than 5 minutes. His ability to lose things was only matched by his skill with a sword.

As she stood up to leave, she heard the man say one last thing.

“Say, Princess Chase. Have you ever chopped a redwood before?”

She froze, instantly understanding he was hinting at something. Standing up straight, she looked back at him with a careful expression. “I have, actually. It's extremely practical to learn basic survival skills. That includes camping.”

The man nodded, unphased. “They really are mighty trees. Stretch all the way to the heavens, and larger than a man laying from one end to the other. How do you suppose you go about chopping one. Do you start at the top?”

Annabeth paused, regarding him carefully. “Of course not. That's the hardest spot to reach, and needless effort. Take out the base, and the rest will come crumbling down.” Annabeth offered.

The man nodded, his wicked grin never leaving his face. “Of course. Just thought I'd ask. I'm thinking of going camping later, and thought I'd make sure I was doing it right.” He offered, before standing up and walking out of the room before Annabeth could respond.

Letting Percy lead the way as she tried to puzzle out the remarks from the prince, Annabeth had a bad feeling in her gut. Her intuition was screaming that something was wrong. There was no chance in hell he was just asking about logging. He was far too smart for that. She had barely flinched as a random villager had jumped out of the crowd with a knife as he headed for her. Percy had successfully pinned and disarmed him moments later anyway. She merely had hopped in the carriage and was beginning to the ride back. At one point she had seen Percy pulled up next to the carriage on his horse. He took off his helmet as he leaned over to speak with her.

“Why was he asking about chopping down trees. Wouldn't he have someone else to do that for him?”

Annabeth just laughed, reaching out the window to cup his face with a hand gently. It seemed Percy had caught the strange remark as well, even if he hadn't quite pieced together what the meaning was behind it either. She was about to reply when she noticed his condition. She frowned, leaning over to get a better look. “Percy, you look a little pale.” She said, concern dripping from her tone. “Maybe you should ride inside...”

Percy sat back up proper, putting on his helmet after flashing her his signature grin. “I'm fine. Just a little tired is all.” He offered before riding back to be in the front of the caravan.

Annabeth glared after him, debating pulling rank and just ordering him in the caravan. But she figured he was as stubborn as she was and that he was also built like an Ox so he'd be fine. She would just make sure he had the day off tomorrow. Maybe they could finally try that new restaurant that had opened up too.

Before long they had successfully passed the border back to their own country without issue. They were met at the border by the local guard, and Annabeth switched to riding her horse back. She needed some fresh open air after that long ride anyway.

Normally whenever she was riding, Percy would fall in beside her almost immediately. Both for security reasons, and because they just enjoyed each other's company. Only this time, he didn't make a move from the head of the caravan. Frowning, Annabeth began to feel a panic building up within her. First he looked pale, and now he was ignoring her. Craning her neck to look ahead, she saw his head was down. Was he moping about something? Annabeth ran over the entire meeting in her mind, but she couldn't think of any thing Percy could have done that would have him upset. He had acted perfectly.

Spurring on her horse, she sped up to his side.

“Percy, are you okay?” She asked gently, peaking over and trying to get a good look at his face under his helmet.

He gave her a quick nod. “Just a little tired. Been in the sun too long in this armor I think.” He offered. His voice sounded off, but Annabeth figured it was just exhaustion. They had been riding for ages, and Percy had been tense since they first left the borders.

“I see. Well you can say what you want about that kingdom, their architecture certainly is beautiful. If you noticed the molding on all of the buildings, they run with the theme of...” Annabeth continued to recount what she had learned both from the visit there, and the books she had read on the subject.

Before long though, she realized Percy wasn't even offering the polite “uh-huh” that he usually did when she got into a rant about architecture.

“You know, even if you're only pretending to listen, you could try a little harder.” She teased.

When she didn't hear a response, she looked over curiously. Her eyes widened when she saw Percy's head bobbing, before he slumped forward on his horse.

Before Annabeth could grab the reigns of the horse. Percy's body slid off the side and collapsed in a heap on the ground. She saw him fall in slow motion, her heart falling with him and shattering to pieces.

Letting out a shriek, Annabeth quickly hopped off her own horse as she knelt down next to him, trying to roll him over. Ripping off his helmet, she found his face a pale green. Most concerning though were the streaks of blood leaving the corners of his mouth. Reaching up with a shaking hand, she found his temperature was burning.

In a second, the rest of her guards had formed a protective circle around her and Percy, looking for any possible outside threats as Jason knelt next to her to figure out the situation.

She saw his eyes widened, before he quickly fished around Percy's neck for a pulse. Letting out a sigh of relief, she saw him looked at her as his shoulders relaxed ever so slightly. “He has a pulse.” He confirmed, letting Annabeth breath again. “But it's weak. I don't know whats wrong with him... it's like he was poisoned... But we never ate any-”

“The apple.” Annabeth spoke in a cold tone. The apple the kid had given him. Fist clenching in the dirt, Annabeth felt a fist around her heart. She didn't know if the kid had known what they were doing, but this war had already cost too many lives. Percy's was not one she was going to lose. She refused.

Standing up and attempting to hide fear that was growing in her very core, she looked at everyone.

“Percy's been poisoned.” Her voice cracked slightly on the last word, nevertheless she pressed on. “Jason, get him into the carriage, we're heading straight back now, as fast as we can. Frank, get Hazel. Now.”

The large man paused, clearly not expecting to be called out. “I... I do-”

Annabeth took a step towards him, the frustration leaking from her. “I don't care about the kingdom's policy on witches. I swear on the crown she'll have my protection while she's here. I know you are close to her. Go get her now and bring her to the castle, or else.” She said, before turning without waiting for a response. Frank was a good man, he'd never let his friend die. Neither would Hazel, from what Annabeth had heard.

Jason was already finishing loading the young man into the carriage as Annabeth climbed in with him.

“Get us home. Now.” She ordered before closing the door.

Beginning to strip Percy out of his armor, she kept running a hand through his hair. It was faint, but she could see the smallest rise and fall of his chest. She felt like her world was cracking. Her mind wasn't quite as sharp, and her heart rate was far too fast to be healthy. Percy was dying in her arms, and there was nothing she could do about it. No knowledge in her arsenal would cure him. No gold in her coffers would help. She would bring together all the best magic and medicine she could to save him. She would save him, if it was the last thing she did.

They had been through far too much together to be separated by a poisoned apple.

She had too keep it together though. Too much was riding on this. No matter how much of her life was currently dying in her arms, she was still the princess and she didn't have the luxury of losing control. Percy would be fine, and then they would address this unforgivable act.

She jumped when she felt a hand cup her cheek.

“Your nose scrunches up when you're angry.” Percy's weak voice offered. His thumb brushed over the edge of it gently. “Promise me you won't do anything stupid. I'm not worth making a mistake over.” He said, before he coughed a few times, splattering Annabeth's sleeve with blood. He tried to reach up again, but his arm struggled to make it. Leaning down, Annabeth gently nudged her head into his hand, staring at him with wide desperate eyes.

“Shut up Percy. You are worth everything to me. This crown means nothing to me if you aren't by my side. You aren't allowed to leave me. You will be okay. I order you to be.” She said weakly, unable to stop the tears that cascaded down her face and splashed onto his.

Percy just offered her one last grin, wiping a tear with a weak thumb before his eyes slid shut and his head lolled to the side.

Annabeth shrieked in horror, but she still felt a gentle breath coming out of his chest. He was alive. By God, he was alive.

Annabeth just ran her hand through his hair over and over again like she knew he loved.

He would be okay.

He would be okay.

He would be okay.

When they finally reached the kingdom, Annabeth found the best doctors already waiting for them. Apparently someone had rode ahead and warned them of what to expect. Chiron had already put everything in place, and Hazel was waiting as well.

As they carried Percy in on a stretcher, she strode elegantly beside him. Her red eyes the only sign of any crack in her composure, in the public she remained as regal as ever as they accompanied Percy to the infirmary.

She stood by the side as they worked, attempting to figure out the exact poison, how to counteract it, and Hazel's magic. She refused to leave her side, and thankfully her status prevented anyone from even thinking of ordering her to.

After what felt like hours, the doctors had identified the poison. It was strong, but with a name to the poison Hazel was able to counteract it. Annabeth had already sent to have any imaginable ingredient or catalyst brought over so they were quick to act.

Eventually the witch had told her that it was up to Percy now. The poison was being burned out of his system, but his body still had to fight the fight.

Percy was resting in Annabeth's personal bed, and only Jason was left.

She turned to him, still sitting on the edge of the bed and running a hand through her knight's hair. “Get Piper.” She said without looking up from Percy's sleeping face.

Jason nodded. “As you wish. Should I bring her here directly?”

Annabeth looked at him, and she could already feel her walls crumbling to bits. It was a miracle she had kept it together as long as she had.

“Please.” Was all she said as her voice cracked on the word.

Sensing her distress, Jason quickly made his way out towards his girlfriend's house.

Meanwhile, Annabeth lost it. Collapsing on the bed, she curled up against her boyfriend's side as she sobbed into his shoulder.

Any dignity or grace she had left her as she broke down. She wasn't the princess of a kingdom. She wasn't the youth prodigy of the battlefield. She was just a young woman who had nearly lost the love of her life.

Annabeth couldn't tell how long it had been but eventually Piper had barged into the room. The merchant girl had a small bag which she dumped on the edge of the bed before she pulled Annabeth into a tight hug.

Accepting the comfort from the only person she trusted as much as Percy, she just cried over her shoulder. Piper held her friend, rubbing her back gently.

Eventually Annabeth calmed down enough to sit back.

She saw her friend looking at her with a patient smile. “I brought you cookies and your favorite cider.” She said, gesturing to the end of the bed with the bag.

Unable to help the small smile that crept on her face, Annabeth nodded. “Thank you.” She said in a slightly hoarse voice.

Piper just nodded, patting her on the head patiently. A few minutes later and the girls were sitting on the end of the bed, quietly chatting. Piper was telling Annabeth all the stories of the varied, and unusually odd customers that always found their way to her shop. Annabeth had to suppress her giggles a few times to avoid disturbing Percy, but she was grateful for Piper. She had needed a distraction to break her from her own downward spiral of worry and doubt.

Eventually though, Annabeth put down her cookie and hung her head. “What if he doesn't get better? I can't... I don't know if I can do this without him. He's save my life so many times. I know it's silly. He's just... so important to me.” Annabeth trailed off, glancing back at the sleeping boy.

Piper rested a hand her shoulder. “Annabeth, look at me. You won't need to. Percy is too stubborn to die. He will be back to normal before you know it, goofing off with Jason. The four of us can get a nice quiet dinner somewhere, and try to forget everything, okay?” She said, her voice slipping into that tone that seemed to sway anyone's mind.

Annabeth nodded after a moment. “That sounds... nice.”

Piper smirked. “Of course it does. Now it's late, and I need to get back. I kinda left things in a hurry. If Percy isn't better by tomorrow I'll swing by again, and I'll bring some wine this time.” She said with a wink.

Annabeth nodded after a moment. Moving over to her dresser, she pulled out a small bag of coins. She gave it to Piper. “I'm sure I cost you money by dragging you out here tonight. I know today was a prime day for sales.” She offered a bit sheepishly.

Piper just shook her head, pushing back the money. “I'm not friends with you for your money, princess. I'd close down my shop for good before I turned my back on you.”

An uncontrollable grin crept over Annabeth's face. “I know. That's why you're the best. Even if you're still technically not allowed to sell to the crown because you're too good at bartering.”

Piper just winked again, nudging Annabeth with her hip.

Annabeth laughed and forced her to take the money. “It's really my pleasure though. You've done a lot for us. Use this to treat yourself for once. Take a day off.”

Piper looked in the bag, gasping slightly. “More like a week.” She muttered, before rolling her eyes and safely storing the coin. “Fine. If you insist.”

Giving Annabeth one last long hug, she turned to Percy. Leaning down, she kissed his forehead, whispering quietly. “Get better Percy, your princess needs you.”

Waving goodbye to Annabeth, she quickly made her way back to her shop, a whistle in her step and a jingle in her purse.

Judging by the moon in the sky, Annabeth figured she had talked with her friend longer than expected. Quickly giving an order to the guard outside her door, she arranged for an escort for her friend. It wasn't exactly safe to wander the streets at night with an absurd amount of money in a purse.

Telling her guard she was turning in for the night, Annabeth quickly changed into her sleepwear.

Raising the covers, she slid underneath them and nestled herself against Percy. He was looking a little less pale, and his breathing was more consistent. She kissed his forehead one last time. “I'm waiting for you, seaweed brain. Please come home.” She muttered, before she curled up a little closer and passed out.

XxXxXxXxX

Annabeth woke up to the sun streaming through her windows. She figured they must have canceled her wake up call after the events of the last day, something she definitely needed to thank them for.

Annabeth had hoped to wake up to her favorite pair of strong arms around her, but Percy was still fast asleep, even if he did look a little healthier.

Sitting up, Annabeth dropped her head into her hands as the gravity of the situation set in again. Moving to the edge of the bed, she set her feet on the floor. She should get up, get ready, and call for doctors. It had been a while, maybe there was something more they could do to help Percy n-

“It's too early.” Percy's voice was so soft, Annabeth would have missed it if she hadn't been yearning to hear his voice for ages.

In a flash she was next to him, leaning over him. “Percy? Was that you? Say something. Please.”

Annabeth saw his eyes shift before they fluttered open after a moment. They were a bit bloodshot, but they were open. Thank God they were open.

“An-nn..” He muttered weakly.

He tried to sit up but Annabeth held a hand to his shoulder. “No. You were just poisoned and nearly died. Do not try to move right now.” She ordered. She was not in the mood to deal with his defiant ass, especially after he was so close to recovering.

Percy seemed to understand her tone and she felt him relax back against the bed. “Okay.” He muttered, before his eyebrows knit together. “Poisoned? Are you okay?” He asked worriedly, one hand reaching up to grab her wrist.

Nodding, Annabeth felt her heart swell at the sound of his voice. He was okay. He was okay.

“It was just you, idiot. We're all fine. We're going to be okay.” She repeated to herself.

Percy nodded after a moment. “As long as you're okay.”

Annabeth just leaned down, kissing him properly. “You can't scare me like that again. I almost lost you. We have too much to do, you mean too much to me. Promise me you won't almost leave me like that again.” She said before she kissed him again.

“Promise.” He said after a moment. His eyes were drooping, and it was clear he was still utterly exhausted.

“Good. Now sleep. You still need to recover.”

Percy nodded. “Sounds good.” He muttered, before his hand snaked up her arm a little. “Can I be selfish?” He asked in a whisper.

Annabeth raised an eyebrow. “Always. What do you want?”

“Can... you stay? I know you have meetings and stuff. But... One of my dreams had you being attacked... and I wasn't able to do anything... And I know you can take care of yourself, but I can't sleep knowing you could be in dan-” He was cut off from his tired rambling as Annabeth kissed him. “Quiet. Of course. The kingdom can wait a day. Besides, I don't think you understand how worried I was. It's not like I can think very clearly with you sick as well.” She offered before she pulled the covers back and snuggled up against him under the sheets. His arms wrapped around her, not quite their usual firm embrace, but welcome just the same. Annabeth made up for it by snuggling just a little closer anyway. Before long she felt his breathing slow as he fell back asleep.

Annabeth figured the officials could wait for a debrief a little longer. She had written out a brief note for them anyway when they were working on him so they knew the details. Kissing Percy's jaw, she buried her head into him and let sleep overtake her again.

Percy would be okay. They would be okay. They'd figure out everything else later, right now they just had each other and that was enough.

XxXxXxXxX

Thank you for reading! That’s the last of this AU I will be posting for a while. I’m going to try and get back into the swing of the Cafe!AU. I have a lot planned for that, just got held up on a chapter. I also want to finish the Prompts I have from you. Haven’t forgotten them, just haven’t gotten around to them yet. They will be answered! 

Thank you to all my readers. I really do appreciate all the notes. I hope I can continue to provide you with some good Percabeth fluff!

Merry Christmas and happy holidays!

[wandlores]

Home

Pairing: Ron Weasley x Astoria Greengrass Words: 3,194 This is for the @slytherdornet and @hprarepairnet Summer Vacation Challenge! You can also read this on AO3.

It should have been an easy choice for Astoria to go to college. She had the grades for it, and she had the talent to succeed in graphic design. She won the scholarship of her dreams, and it was a way to escape her vengeful family. But it was realistically the hardest choice of her life. It meant that she had to leave her best friend behind.

Ron decided quickly that college was not for him. His life was dedicated to farming, much like the rest of his family. Astoria respected that, but she would be lying if she said she hadn’t hoped he would change his mind and come with her. Maybe the city life would do him good, but she knew that was just selfish thinking.

The goodbye was rough; it was full of sobs and hugs so tight she swore she couldn’t breathe. Before she stepped into her old beat up pick-up truck, he did something he had never done before. He kissed her on the forehead and said he would miss her more. Astoria remembered how her face flushed and how that was that moment she realized she was in love with him after all these years. She examined the tears welling up in his eyes that he didn’t dare let escape, and she saw that it was as painful for her as it was for him.

Maybe he was in love with her, too. Or maybe she was just seeing what she wanted to see.

Before she drove away that day, she told him, “I’ll see you at Christmas.”

He nodded and smiled, and he waved along with his brother George as she drove away and down his gravel driveway. As she turned onto the highway, she had to stop herself from crying so her vision wouldn’t cloud. The only thing that made her get through the drive was thinking of Ron’s last smile.

She didn’t see him at Christmas, but it wasn’t either of their faults. Her family forced her on a family vacation that ultimately ended in her finally getting disowned, and there was no way she was able to escape it to find her way back to the Weasley farm. Ron understood, but she swore she heard his voice crack on the other end of the phone as she told him the news. She promised she would see him during Spring Break.

But she had no idea that that wouldn’t happen either, because an internship opportunity came her way and she would have been stupid to turn it down.

Things started pulling them apart, but a day didn’t go by she didn’t think of Ron, or the way he gently held her head as he kissed her forehead goodbye.

She replayed that moment in her head every day before bed; it didn’t matter how many joints she smoked or how drunk she was from the frat party that night.

Ron was always the last thing on her mind; he always had been, she had just been too stupid to realize it. Maybe she realized it too late.

It was finally time for Astoria to see Ron again. She hadn’t seen him since the end of last summer. Her knees bounced against her worn leather seats in anticipation, and she tapped her fingers against her steering wheel. She was nervous, and she had never been nervous around Ron before.

Maybe it was because now there were so many things left unsaid, or maybe it was because she feared he had changed as much as she had. Astoria realized that the city life was something she could grow accustomed to permanently, though nothing would ever replace Ron’s farm.

Dust billowed around her truck as she made her way down Ron’s driveway. She watched as the Weasley’s front door opened, and she saw them all run out in excitement.

That’s when she caught sight of him.

Ron was the last to exit his home. He had grown taller since she had last seen him, and she didn’t think that was possible. He was more muscular, and she realized that had to be from all the work he had been doing on the farm. He was doing it full-time now; it was his life.

She swallowed nervously as she put her car in park. She took a quick deep breath, but her door was opened by Fred and George. George threw her over his shoulder and Fred attempted to give her a noogie.

Astoria laughed freely as they set her down.

“We missed you so much, Greengrass!” The twins said at the same time.

A smile spread across her face, and Ginny ran up to her and threw her arms around her.

“I’m sorry I missed your graduation,” Astoria apologized to her, “I just couldn’t get away before I was done with finals.”

Ginny pulled away from her and playfully huffed.

“I totally understand, Stori. You don’t need to explain.”

Astoria smiled gratefully as the rest of the Weasleys approached her. Many hugs and relieved laughs filled the air, but everything seemed to stop in time as she made eye contact with Ron.

She pulled away from Percy slowly and took Ron in again. He was tanner than she would have ever expected, and her eyes were drawn to his newly formed muscles against his white t-shirt for a second time. Her mouth felt dry, but she was able to get one word out.

“Ron.”

His eyes were startlingly blue; she felt like she was going to drown.

He looked at her as though he couldn’t believe it was her, but once he realized he wasn’t dreaming, he ran toward her and hug her so hard that she was lifted up from the ground.

She buried her head in his neck and sighed. He smelled like freshly mowed grass and mint. She closed her eyes and prayed he wouldn’t let go.

“I missed you,” he whispered in her ear, “I missed you more than you could have missed me.”

She chuckled to herself as he put her down, but she didn’t dare look away from him as she said, “That’s very doubtful.”

After spending a week on the farm, Astoria’s skin started to sport a familiar golden tan, and she hadn’t felt so relaxed in months.

An evening after milking the cows, Ron joined her on his back porch. The rest of his family had gone out to a movie; Astoria swore George offered the idea just so she could get alone time with Ron. She would have to thank him for that later.

She watched as Ron wiped sweat from his brow and casually took off his shirt from the heat. She looked away quickly and swore she felt herself blush, and she hoped he didn’t see her reaction. Astoria noticed in her peripheral vision he raised his brow, but he didn’t say anything. He might have even smirked.

“Is it weird being back home?” He asked her casually.

Astoria kept her eyes straight ahead and shrugged.

“Not really, it feels like I never left.”

“I guess that’s good then.”

“Yeah,” she agreed, “It is.”

An awkward silence ensued. Astoria wasn’t used to this with Ron, and she wasn’t sure why it was happening. Or she didn’t want to think about why it was happening. Her feelings were ruining everything.

Her idea blurted out of her mouth before she thought it through, “We should go on a road trip. I should show you where I’m living.”

She turned her head slowly towards Ron to take in his reaction, but he surprised her by smiling.

“I would love that. You and me on the road, it will be just like old times.”

She exhaled a breath she didn’t know she was holding, “Yeah, it will be.”

But Astoria knew that was a lie, nothing would ever be the same between them again. Not with everything she had realized over the past year.

They decided to leave two days later. They threw their suitcases in the backseat of Astoria’s pick-up truck and left early in the morning. Ron was still half asleep, but Astoria made sure to stop by their local coffee drive-thru hut to get him his favorite vanilla latte. It was a guilty pleasure he hardly told anyone about.

“You still remember my order,” he commented as she paid for their drinks.

“Of course I do,” Astoria told him, “It’s hard to forget. You put so much sugar in it.”

She loved teasing him, and he loved it too. He just grinned as he emptied four sugar packets into his latte.

“Since when do you drink black coffee, though?” He asked.

Astoria forgot this was something she picked up in the city. For some reason, she felt guilty. She shrugged.

“After I had to pull all-nighters for exams, I suppose.”

“College sounds like it sucks.”

“It’s actually pretty great,” she explained, “I have met a lot of really cool people, and I have learned so much. I also have a ton of new experiences I can tell you about.”

She expected Ron to make a comment saying he was excited to hear about everything, but instead, he stayed silent and took a sip of his latte.

After a few moments, he finally replied, “That’s cool.”

Astoria didn’t know what to say for the next few hours, so she turned up the radio and tried to calm the nerves in her stomach.

The first three days on the road were awkward, until they got a room at a Motel 6. She just couldn’t stand it anymore.

“Why are you being so quiet?” She asked him, “What did I do wrong?”

He set down their bags at the end of the first bed and rubbed the back of his neck and sighed.

“You’ve done nothing wrong, Stori. I just don’t know what to say.”

“Why?”

He groaned, “Can I at least piss first before we talk about this? I have been holding it for the last two hours.”

She knew he was just avoiding answering her question, but she didn’t protest. She gestured for him to use the bathroom and laid back on the bed dramatically to wait for him. She made sure the bed squeaked loudly so he got the message.

Once he was finally out of the bathroom, she sat back up and noticed he came out shirtless again.

He was trying to kill her.

“Why are you doing that so much?” She asked, “I-I mean, never mind.”

He raised his brow as he opened a bag of chips.

“Doing what?”

“Nothing, forget it.”

He didn’t push her, and she listened to him as the potato chips crunched in his mouth. She hated food noises, so she offered to do the first thing that came to her mind. She knew it sounded shallow, but maybe it would help them both relax a bit.

“Want to smoke a joint?”

He choked on a chip and started coughing, but he mustered his voice enough to croak out, “What? Since when do you smoke?”

“College, I guess.”

“A lot of things have changed since you went to college.”

“I guess that’s what happens.”

It came out sharper than she intended. She wasn’t even sure why she was mad. She was the one with the feelings; she was the one making it worse. She was just mad at herself.

“I’ve never smoked a joint, but I’ll give it a try.”

She knew they should go back out to her truck to smoke, but instead, she cracked open a window and told him to come and sit by it. She then lit the joint and brought it to her lips. Astoria could feel Ron watching her, and she could have sworn his eyes were lingering on her lips for a little too long before she handed it to him.

“I know you’ve smoked a cigarette,” she told him, “It’s the same thing. Just try to hold it in longer.”

He nodded as he took a drag. He started coughing as he held it in, but he did it long enough that she knew he would feel it if he took a few more hits.

“I can’t believe you’re into this stuff, Stori. You would never even try cigarettes with me in high school. What brought this on?”

“Parties, I suppose,” she told him, “It isn’t like I do it all the time or anything. I just brought some home with me cause I figured you’d want to try it. You like to try new things.”

“That’s true, but not like you now it seems.”

She wasn’t sure if she should be offended by his comment or not, so she let it slide.

After they finished the joint, Astoria grabbed Ron’s bag of chips from earlier, but he stayed in place and watched her.

“Did you date while you were away?” He asked her, “Like, did you go to any frat parties?”

“I went to frat parties, but I didn’t date.”

“Why not?”

Because of you. She wanted to say, but she didn’t. Instead, she just shrugged.

“No one in the city caught my eye.”

They were two hours away from her campus when Ron suddenly asked her to pull over.

She pulled off the highway and they stopped at an old deserted gas station. Ron hopped out and started pacing the parking lot.

“What’s going on?” She asked him. She decided to follow him as he paced, but he didn’t look back at her.

“I can’t take it anymore!” He suddenly shouted, “I can’t just keep going on like everything is okay.”

Astoria stopped in her tracks.

“Wha-what do you mean?”

He stopped pacing and approached her abruptly. He was at least a head taller than her, and the look in his eyes was so serious that she didn’t even know how to react. Ron never looked like this.

“I was in love with you and you just left! Then you never came back. Do you know how hard that was for me?”

Astoria blinked a few times, but he didn’t give her a chance to respond. He kept on ranting.

“I thought you knew. Or maybe you did and you didn’t care. These thoughts have been haunting me for months. All I could think about while you were gone was if you were sleeping with some guy at a frat party, or at least making a new best friend and forgetting about me. My life is nothing without you, Stori. I would never stop you from pursuing your dreams, but I don’t know how to deal with this. I can’t not be with you, even if it just means I’m just your best friend. I’m in love with you, I’m so in love with you that it keeps me awake at night, but you’re still the only thing that helps me fall asleep. It’s so contradictory. I don’t know how to cope!”

She wanted to think of the right words to comfort him; she wanted to tell him how about the agony she was going through while she was away from him, too. But she couldn’t think of the words. Instead, she wrapped her arms around his neck and brought his lips down to her's.

Ron was surprised at first. His lips didn’t move against her's at all, until they suddenly did. It happened so quickly. Astoria’s lips were on fire, and her hair tangled in Ron’s waves. She would never get enough of this. This was what she had been missing. This was why she was homesick.

As soon as she pulled away she told him, “I’m in love you, too. I always have been, I just was too stupid to see it. I wanted you to come with me, I’m so sorry I left. But I can’t expect you to pick up and leave your family’s legacy behind for me. That’s selfish, and I love you too much to be selfish.”

She watched as he closed his eyes and put their foreheads together. She felt his breathing slow down, and she closed her eyes, too.

“I would have gone if you asked,” he told her, “I would have followed you anywhere.”

“But farm-“

“I don’t love it that much,” he reassured her, “Trust me. It will be good for me to get away.”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying I’m never going to allow myself to be away from you ever again. I’m saying I’m going with you when you leave at the end of the summer, but only if you still want me to.”

Breathless, she replied, “Of course I do. I will always want you to.”

Ron kissed her again in response. They stayed liked that for a while, until a random cop pulled into the gas station parking lot and told them they had to leave and stop loitering. They laughed as they ran back to her truck; she didn’t care that they were almost written up. She would do it all over again if it guaranteed the same outcome.

The last two hours of the drive to her campus felt like old times. It surprised Astoria how things were exactly the same even after the truth came out. The only difference was that Ron was now casually placing his hand on her bare knee, and he would tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear as it fell in her face as she drove.

Once they reached her campus and she walked around her truck to his side, Ron grabbed her hand. She took a moment to look down at their linked fingers.

“What is it?” He asked her.

She looked up and out towards her campus grounds and gave his hand a squeeze.

“Now everything’s complete,” she told him truthfully, “All I needed here to feel at home was you.”

She watched as a smile spread across his face and as his cheeks turned red. Embarrassed Ron had always been her favorite; it reminded her of when they were in middle school.

They stood in silence for a bit, until she suddenly said, “Carry me bridal style around campus, I feel like it is fitting for this moment. It will be like a movie.”

It was stupid, and it was lame. She had no idea why it really came to mind. But she knew Ron would do it, because that’s the kind of person Ron was. He was loyal to his own detriment, and he was silly enough to take any idea on that Astoria proposed. They were best friends before anything, and Astoria hoped it would always be that way.

“Well, I guess I can do that,” Ron said in a fake exasperated tone.

She giggled as he picked her up in his arms and soon he was running around her campus as she squealed. He didn’t drop her once, and that’s when she remembered that Ron was always there for support. He made her feel safe.

The reason Astoria was apprehensive to go to college wasn’t because she was in love with Ron; it was because Ron had been her home all along.

[imwastingmylifeinhere]

Magnus Chase and the Obligatory Hogwarts Au Ch25

We're finally here, folks! The last chapter! I'm going to keep all the emotional stuff for the end notes,  but I wanted to say my sister has almost finished drawing the gang the first time they went to Hogsmeade together, so I'll post it when she finishes. Anyway, enjoy!

“He did it! Magnus Chase has won the Triwizard Tournament!”

Magnus could hardly believe what was happening. He felt like the air had been knocked out of him, which it had when Alex tackled him to the ground. His green-haired girlfriend had her arms wrapped around his neck as she kissed Magnus senseless. The crowd around them was cheering them on and whistling, but Alex didn’t really seem deterred by it. When she finally let him breathe properly, she didn’t get off him immediately.

“Good job, Maggie,” she said softly. Magnus smiled up at her, the fear of being beaten by bludgers, mauled by the Giant Squid and eaten by the Acromantulas forgotten.

“Hey, Alex,” Halfborn cut in, “you can snog Magnus later, we want to congratulate him too!”

Alex huffed but got off Magnus and offered him a hand to get up too. “I’ll hold you to that,” she told Halfborn with her characteristic shit’s-gonna-go-down smirk. Halfborn seemed to reconsider his words.

The moment Magnus stood up he was embraced by Annabeth, who was hugging him so tightly Magnus felt the pressure in his ribs. He hugged his cousin back as well as he could with the Cup still hanging from his hand.

“Congratulations, cousin,” she said when she finally pulled away from him. Percy was standing behind her wearing a Hogwarts t-shirt and his megaphone under his armpit, giving Magnus double thumbs up.

“Thanks,” Magnus told Annabeth. He yelped in surprised when Halfborn put his arm around his shoulders and squeezed him close to his side. Mallory jumped in as well, hugging Magnus from the other side.

“Congratulations, blondie!” They said in unison. Magnus would have been upset about the nickname if he wasn’t too busy smiling at his friends. Sam hugged him next, followed by Amir, who promised him a free extra large order of falafel next time he came by the shop. Guess almost being eaten by spiders has its benefits.

“Okay, people, like we practiced!” T.J yelled suddenly. The Hogwarts students gathered around Magnus surged forward quickly and Magnus found himself being hosted up on people’s hands and shoulders.

“Wh-what- oh!” Magnus cried out. The mass of people underneath him moved forward towards the exit of the Quidditch field, cheering loudly like a carnival parade. Some students threw confetti in the air, others fireworks and some used their wands to create bright sparks and multicolored bubbles.

“Magnus! Magnus! Magnus!” They kept chanting his name as they moved through the school grounds, loud and joyous. The air was buzzing with laughter and cheers as the Hogwarts students took Magnus on a victory round around the Big Lake.

The Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students were close behind, each with their own Champion on their backs. They cheered just as piercingly, like they were competing about who could celebrate the hardest.

They didn’t let Magnus get down until they had reached Hogwart’s large main door, and even then they had to open the double doors dramatically open-sesame style and carry him through them before they allowed him to stand on his own two feet again.

“Did you seriously practice that?” Magnus asked T.J as he watched the younger students rush inside the Hall of the Slain to party.

“Yep!” T.J replied with a smile. “We used Alex as your substitute since you’re about the same size.”

“It’s pretty comfortable way to move once you get used to it,” Alex commented. “So, what are we doing now? We need to celebrate!”

“Oh, the teachers said seventh year students are allowed to go to Hogsmeade,” Sam said. “Maybe we could go to Valhalla?”

“Sounds like a plan!” Mallory cheered. “Let’s go!”

“Oh, wait, I need to do something first!” Magnus said and left, leaving the Triwizard Cup in Alex’s arms.

Finding his way through the crowd was a nightmare with so many people packed in the Hogwarts entrance. Even worse, people wouldn’t let him through without congratulating him for winning the Tournament, which, yes, was very kind of them, but it didn’t really help when he was trying to find someone quickly.

Finally, he found Raphael close to the wall with Louis. They were talking with some adults Magnus hadn’t seen before, but he could easily tell they were Raphael’s and Louis’s parents.

The couple on the right had the same beautiful dark skin as Raphael, the father standing with the same confidence as his son and the mother with the same kind eyes. A young girl – about twelve, probably –was gushing about something to Raphael and good Merlin, it was like looking at a miniature of Raphael.

The couple on the left was talking to Louis about something – Magnus couldn’t hear what. Louis’s father had his son’s green eyes and his mother his blonde curls and chubby cheeks. As Magnus came closer he could hear them talking in rapid French and he noticed a plastic bag hanging by the arm of Louis’s mother, the name of their bakery in an elegant font (which he couldn’t read because the only French he knew was crepe, croissant and Eiffel).

Magnus stood to the side for a bit, not wanting to interrupt family time, but Raphael spotted him and called him over.

“Oh, Magnus, hi! Congratulations on winning the Cup!” Raphael turned to his parents and introduced Magnus. “Maman, Papa, this is Magnus Chase. These are my parents and the little peste is Alya.”

“Salut!” Alya exclaimed. Her accent was thicker than Raphael’s “Raphy said your amoureuse has green hair! That’s so cool! I want colored hair too!”

Raphael’s mother smiled at Alya. “Maybe when you’re older.” That didn’t seem to satisfy the young girl because she crossed her arms and pouted. Magnus was barely able to cover up his smile; Raphael’s little sister was adorable.

Raphael’s father took both Magnus’s hands in his own and the blonde looked at nervously. Raphael looked more embarrassed than worried. “Thank you very much for helping our son in the First Task,” Raphael’s father said. There was such genuine gratitude in his eyes Magnus felt like he was the one who should be saying thanks.

“N-no, it’s alright,” Magnus stammered out. He smiled at Raphael’s parents before turning back to his two friends. “Um, anyway, me and the others are going to Valhalla and I wanted to see if you wanted to come along.”

“Sure,” Raphael said. “You owe me and Helga a Butterbeer, if I’m not mistaken.”

Magnus chuckled and nodded. “I guess I do. The others must be close to the door, I’ll go find Helga and meet you there.”

Magnus left to find Helga and Louis with Raphael told their parents goodbye, Louis kissing his parents cheeks. Most students had left the entrance hall by now, so it was much easier to look for the Durmstrang Champion. He found Helga talking to Agatha and what must be Agatha’s parents, a lanky man with Agatha’s dirty blonde hair and another man with black hair in a small ponytail.

“Helga!” He called out. The four of them turned around to look at Magnus. He greeted Agatha’s parents before turning back to the two girls. “We’re going to Valhalla with the others and I wanted to see if you wanted to come along.”

Helga smiled brightly and nodded. She seemed so happy to be invited that Magnus wondered if people generally asked her to go out with them before.

Magnus waited off to the side for Helga and Agatha to say goodbye before the three of them headed off to find the rest of the group. They weren’t by the Hogwarts entrance so Magnus assumed they already went to Valhalla. The walk there would have been quiet if it wasn’t for the huge amount of students and spectators that were milling around Hogsmeade, making the air buzz with hundreds of different voices.

“Oh, congratulations on winning, Magnus,” Helga said at one point. “That was a clever trick you thought of at the end. Wish I had thought of that.”

“Oh, thank you. What place did you get?” He felt a bit awkward for asking, like he was shoving it into Helga’s face that she hadn’t won, but he honestly wasn’t able to hear who finished second and who third with all the commotion that was going on.

“I got third since I was the farthest from the Cup when you touched it,” Helga answered; she didn’t seem at all annoyed by Magnus’s question. “It’s kind of nice, to be honest. I took part in the Triwizard Tournament, I gave it my best and I had fun. I lost and no one is going to chew me out for it.” Magnus didn’t have to ask to know that ‘no one’ was her parents. “I’m allowed to lose.”

Agatha squeezed Helga’s hand and smiled at her warmly. Helga returned the smile with the softest expression Magnus had ever seen. Helga was looking at Agatha like there were a million things she wanted to thank her for and didn’t know where to start. The whole exchange, as sort as it was, felt awfully intimate and Magnus looked away to give them privacy.

Magnus thought that the streets of Hogsmeade were noisy, but that was nothing compared to when they opened the door to Valhalla and stepped inside the shop. Everything was ten times louder, like putting on headphones and forgetting you had left the sound at full volume. There were people everywhere, from students to adults and even some reporters too busy drinking to actually report anything. The place was so crowded Magnus was afraid they would find a place to sit. They were thirteen people after all.

“Maggie! Over here!” How Magnus was able to hear Alex in all this commotion he didn’t know, but finding her in the crowd wasn’t hard. Mostly because her hair was green, she was dressed in green and pink and she was standing on top of a table with a Butterbeer at hand. Not exactly someone you can miss.

“Grab a seat!” Alex said once he got near to their table, patting the place next to her. Her cheeks were flushed red and Magnus would bet the Cup that wasn’t just Butterbeer in her cup.

“How did you manage to get a table?” Helga asked. Magnus’s friends were sitting at a large round table at the back of the shop. “This place is packed full!”

“I said I’m Magnus’s cousin and that we were here to celebrate,” Annabeth explained. “The owner was beyond happy to give a table to all three Champions.”

“He gave us free chips too!” T.J added, holding up a half-empty plate of chips. Magnus would bet he hadn’t had just Butterbeer either.

The waitress soon came by to give Magnus, Helga and Agatha a glass of Butterbeer and was gone in a flash, already running to the other side of the shop to serve a different table.  Despite how full the place was, the cacophony soon became white noise to Magnus.

“Eh hem.” Halfborn cleared his throat as he stood up, raising his cup in a toast. “We are here today because our dear loser Magnus managed to not only survive the Triwizard Tournament but also win first place!”

Everyone at the table clapped their hands and cheered. After the round of applause (and Alex’s long wolf whistle) was over, Halfborn kept going.

“I honestly wouldn’t have expected him to win.” Magnus frowned mockingly at him, knowing full well he didn’t mean what he was saying – his shit-eating grin gave him away. “Kidding, kidding. But,” pause for dramatic effect, “we are also here to celebrate the three brave, if stupid, Champions who represented our schools in the Tournament and stayed courageous even when they had to face their worst fears. Literally, too. Thank you for suffering for our entertainment.”

Halfborn thrust his glass out to the middle of the table and they all copied him. Thirteen glasses crashed against each other loudly, the liquid inside them sloshing around and even dripping down on the table. They brought the cups to their lips and took deep gulps of the sweet drink, the thick liquid trickling down their throats and leaving behind a nice warm feeling. Yep, definitely not just Butterbeer.

“Honestly though, the part at the Acromantulas’ nest was horrifying,” Annabeth said after she lowered her cup, visibly shuddering. Magnus remembered when they were young, maybe around five, and Annabeth would be mortified every time she so much as thought she had seen a spider. Magnus didn’t know why she disliked them so much, but it seemed like the feeling was mutual. “I would hate to have to deal with a spider that large, let alone a whole nest of them.”

Helga chuckled, the kind of chuckle that said I’ve been through hell and back and I’m gonna laugh about it because our existence is futile anyway. “Yeah, that was horrible. It was like being in the alien’s den in a sci-fi anime, only you don’t have the main character’s plot armor.”

“Magnus laughed, along with the rest of their table. “I didn’t know you liked anime,” he said.

Helga immediately flushed and Agatha giggled at her girlfriend’s cute expression. “She does, but she doesn’t tell anyone about it,” the blonde girl explained with a smile. “You should see her when she starts ranting about a specific episode or something like that. She’s non-stop!”

“Agatha!” Helga hissed, her face even redder than before.

“What? You’re cute when you’re ranting.” If possible, that made Helga blush even harder and she whimpered as she hid her face on Agatha’s shoulder. Magnus giggled because come on, they were cute.

“She’s right about the spiders, though I kind of disliked the one at the lake more,” Raphael said. “I’m not good with water, and those tentacles…” Raphael shuddered. “Ew.”

They all laughed at Raphael’s exaggerated sound of disgust, until a very loud, very over the top gasp drew their attention to Percy. “Wait, you don’t like water?” He sounded offended, like you had just offended his family, and he sprang into a detailed explanation of everything good about water and the sea in general. Honestly, it sounded like he had practiced this.

The rest of the evening went on like that, friendly banter, jokes, teasing and lots, lots of Butterbeer. Turns out Mallory holds her liquor much better than Halfborn. The night hadn’t ended yet and Magnus already knew a lot of new, random things about his friends.

Like how the first gift Amir bought for Sam with his own money back when they were younger was a teddy bear that she still had on her bed, despite its leg having fallen off at least three times. Or how T.J would always carry a water-gun around with him when he was five because he thought a character he saw in a movie was cool and he wanted to be a soldier and protect him mum from bad guys. Or that Halfborn used to have a pet rock named Shirley or that Mallory almost choked because she staffed 29 grapes in her mouth when she was seven on a dare and was since terrified of them.  He learned that Percy would sing “Under the Sea” non-stop when he in elementary school and that Alex’s favorite Disney movie was “The Emperor’s new Groove” (which he should have expected, honestly.) That Agatha could play five different instruments and that she wanted to learn cello because it was like a giant violin, which she thought was cool when she was little and that Helga’s favorite anime trope was friends to lovers and that, if you got her started, she wouldn’t stop talking about Hunter x Hunter (2011) unless you forced her to stop. That Alya had become best friends with Louis when Raphael first brought him home and that, after he came out and started transitioning, she became his self-appointed bodyguard that would fight anyone who so much as thought about misgendering her future brother-in-law. He also learnt that Raphael pistachio ice-cream, but not actual pistachios and that he once got extra points on a test because he drew the teacher a funny meme on the bottom of the page.

Couple of rounds in and they were all at least tipsy, whether it was because of the Butterbeer or the amount of sugar in the various sweets they ate. Halfborn was telling some random story from university, about what Magnus was exactly sure, and he started wondering whether he got into the school he wanted or not. The reply letter should be arriving any day now, after all.

“Say,” Raphael said to Helga and Agatha from where he was draped over Louis’s shoulder, “what do you two want to study?”

“I wanna study music,” Agatha said, with the kind of ease you had when you said something for the thousandth time.

“I don’ know what I wanna do,” Helga said. She had moved around in the booth so that she was sitting right next to Agatha with one arm around her waist. “I always assumed I would take on the family business, but that’s not happening, so I dunno… Maybe I’ll take a gap year. I can do whatever I want now.”

“Damn right, you can!” Alex cheered, slapping the table for emphasis. “To hell with stupid parents!”

Helga laughed and raised her glass along with Alex. “To hell with stupid parents!”

“Mmm, I’ll miss you, guys!” Mallory whimpered. “We won’t see each other as much once the next school year starts!”

Halfborn patted his sad girlfriend’s back, but T.J shook his head in disagreement. “Nah ah! We’ll see each other as much as we want! You ain’t getting rid of me that easy!”

Sam nodded from her seat next to Amir. “Yeah, things are ending because we’re finishing Hogwarts! It’s a new start!”

Any other time they would have teased her for sounding like a motivational speaker or a parent’s pep talk, but they couldn’t care less right now. “Yes!” Magnus agreed, raising his cup high (and dropping half its contents by accident in the process). “It’s a new start!”

Glasses were lifted up for a toast and the sound of them clanking together resonated in their little corner of Valhalla as they laughed and enjoyed the night.

/////

The closing ceremony the next day doubled as both the end of the school year and the end of the Triwizard Tournament. The ceremony would take place in the school grounds next to the Big Lake to take advantage of the summer weather and a large stage was set up in front of rows and rows of chairs.

The graduation ceremony took place first. Everybody, students and parents, were in their best clothes for the occasion. The three Headmasters took turns calling up their seventh year students and giving them their diploma (which was charmed to look like a diploma from a random highschool in case a muggle saw it). By the time the ceremony ended the stage was packed full of students and the audience was packed full of crying proud parents.

As the rest of the students left the stage, Magnus, Raphael and Helga waited on the stage like they had been told. They sat at the very back and waited silently until everybody was seated again. Once that finally happened, Headmaster Odin stepped to the front and cleared his throat before starting his speech.

Magnus would have loved to tell you what that speech was, but unfortunately he tuned it out after two minutes. What he could tell you was that it started with a pretty conceited and lightly history lesson about the origin of the Triwizard Tournament. He was sure that was an interesting story, but he didn’t really care to listen to it now.

His eyes scanned the crowd until he found Alex and his friends. They were seated somewhere in the middle, between the parents in the back and the important ministry and reporter folk in the front. They took up nearly an entire row on their own and when Alex noticed that he was looking at them, he waved happily. Magnus smiled, making the corners of his eyes crease as he waved back at him.

“Without further ado, it is time to award the three Champions,” Headmaster Odin said, finally getting to the point. “At third place, we have Helga Leifsson!”

Helga got up and walked to the front to get her medal, shoulders back and head held high, every bit as confident as when she arrived at Hogwarts and ten times happier. Headmistress Sonia put the bronze medal around her neck and Helga stood proudly as the reporters’ cameras flashed. Magnus couldn’t see her expression from the back, but Helga’s eyes fell on Agatha, who was beaming at her and giving her double thumbs up, and she smiled softly to herself.

“At second place we have Raphael Beaumont!”

Raphael made his way to the front. He kept his chin up and his gait was so confident you’d think he was the undisputed winner. He bowed his head and Headmaster Gilbert put the silver medal around his neck. The crowd went wild for him and, near the back, Alya was clapping for him while standing up on her chair, wolf-whistling and yelling supportive things in French.

“And finally, at first place we have the winner of the Triwizard Tournament, Magnus Chase!”

The crowd didn’t clap for him; no, they freaking roared. Applause and whistles and cheers filled the air, the cacophony they created louder than a thunderstorm. It was crazy to imagine so many people were clapping for him, that so many people were happy he won. He walked to the front of the stage in a daze, the applause seemingly getting louder with each step. His eyes drifted over the audience as Headmaster Odin gave him his medal. There were so many people – Hogwarts students, their families, reporters and guests, but they weren’t the only ones cheering. Durmstrang and Beauxbatons were clapping just as loudly, even if a lot of people were miffed that their Champion hadn’t won.

Raphael and Helga smiled at him as the Hogwarts Headmaster gave him the Cup and Magnus smiled back at them. He pulled them closer and hugged them as best as he could while holding the Cup with one arm. He had risked his life (and his mental health) alongside these people and he felt impossibly close to them, even if things didn’t start well with one of them.

At last, as the three Champions held up the Cup together, Headmaster Odin made the final declaration of the Tournament.

“The Triwizard Tournament is over!”

As the crowd gets up for a standing ovation, its uproar becoming even more thunderous, big multicolored bubbles floated over the audience. They shined like gems under the summer sun, casting bright colors on the people beneath them. They soon started bursting, spreading a glittering, fine powder over spectators. They air glimmered with every color of the rainbow, the sound of laughter and cheering as loud as church bells.

News reporters and paparazzi had already formed a thick wall around the steps that lead off the stage, each one of them eager to get an exclusive interview with one of the Champions, preferably Magnus or Helga. The Triwizard Tournament was quite popular for a competition between schools, but with the kind of tasks the competitors went through it was expected. Magnus cast a nervous glance at his fellow Champions, the ‘how in the name of Merlin’s garter belt are we supposed to get through that?’ clear in his eyes.

“Look confident,” Helga whispered. “They can smell fear.” Needless to say, that didn’t really reassure him.

Still, he tried to mimic Helga’s stance as they walked down the steps – shoulders squared, chest out, chin up and looking at every one like you’re a lion and they’re a tasty gazelle. Magnus probably looked more like a five year old after they first watched The Lion King, but he tried.

Reporters fired questions at them as soon as they set foot on the steps and Magnus would be lying if he said he was able to make out anything they said. It was simply indistinguishable yells, cameras and voice recorders being shoved into his face as the flashes blinded him. Raphael looked just as dazed by it all as him, but Helga managed to keep her cool and politely asked the reporters to let them leave. They didn’t seem to have heard her or, if they did, they didn’t care. Helga tried to pull Magnus and Raphael out by force, but they were clearly outnumbered.

“Hey, hey, get out of the way, come on!” Alex’s green mop of hair cut through the crowd of reporters, the rest of their friends right behind him. She popped through the tight ring of reporters under some lady’s armpit and stood in front of Magnus like a mama bear protecting her cubs. The rest of the gang formed a circle around the Champions, glaring openly at the reporters and being as frightening as they could, which – for most of them – wasn’t hard at all. (Halfborn was the size of an ox for crying out loud and there was just something very scary about Annabeth’s eyes when she glared at people.)

“They don’t wanna speak right now, so scram,” Alex said plain and simple. Unfortunately, that seemed to have the opposite effect.

“Are you Alexander Fierro by any chance?” A woman near the front asked, pushing the other reporters away and getting way too far into Alex’s personal space. “Would you like to tell us something about-“

“I don’t want to tell you anything,” Alex cut in, voice sharper than the woman’s eyeliner. “Now let us pass.”

If the news reporters didn’t back away on their own, Halfborn and the rest of the Champion Protection Squad™ (also known as CH.P.S) (yes, they needed a better abbreviation) did a good enough job of simply pushing them out of the way by force.

“Thanks for that, guys,” Magnus said after they managed to get out of the reporters’ vice grip. Goodness, he was having flashbacks to being surrounded by man-eating spiders because of that. It probably wasn’t a flattering comparison for the reporters.

“No problem,” Louis said. Then, to Raphael, “Did I look scary?”

Raphael leaned in and pecked him on the cheek. “Fierce.”

Louis giggled, a light airy sound, and leaned in to kiss Raphael on the lips. Their kiss was sweet and slow and Magnus turned to Alex to give them privacy. “Je suis si fier de toi,” he heard Louis whisper in French and he would hazard a guess that Louis had said “I’m so proud of you”.

“So,” Alex started as they moved towards the larger buffet table where T.J was once again shoving food into his face, “how does it feel to win the Triwizard Tournament and be accepted into Healing School?”

“Pretty good- wait. Did you say I was accepted into Healing School?”

Alex broke into a wide grin and, to Magnus’s amazement, pulled out an envelope from the pocket of his jean (from Blitzen’s Best, enchanted so they had Mary Poppins-esque pockets). “This came in yesterday, but I wanted to surprise you after the award ceremony,” he said as he held the envelope out to Magnus.

Magnus took it carefully from Alex’s hands, as if the paper would dissolve into thin air if he wasn’t careful. The envelope was already open, but the letter was put back inside and Magnus pulled it out gingerly. He was met with the ornate insignia of the Wizarding University of London on the top of the page, beautiful golden vines wrapping around a piece parchment and a wand. His eyes skimmed over the letter, compliments about his N.E.W.T.s and his performance in the Tournament, until he found the words he was looking for.

You have been accepted into the Healing department of the Wizarding University of London.

Magnus’s eyes widened at seeing the actual words and a smiled spread across his face. He got in!

“I got in! I got in!” He said excitedly, gripping onto the letter tightly. Alex’s smile got even bigger as he watched Magnus freak out over being accepted into one of the best universities in the UK.

“I told you could do it,” he said and kissed Magnus’s cheek.

“Did you get in too?” Magnus asked.

“Yep! We’ll get to go to the same university!”

Suddenly, before even Magnus himself thought about what he was doing, he was cupping Alex’s face and kissing him on deeply on the lips. He only realized what he was doing when he felt Alex’s lips move against his own, but Alex didn’t pull away, only pull him closer and deepen the kiss.

“Sorry,” Magnus said breathlessly when they pulled apart. Their foreheads were still touching but Magnus didn’t feel like moving away and neither did Alex. “I just…” He never said ‘I’m happy’, but he didn’t need to.

“It’s okay,” Alex said. “I’m happy, too.”                

They stayed close like that for a little longer, neither of them wanting to be the first to pull away. They did so eventually, especially when they noticed one of the photographers taking pictures of them. They wandered off together, their fingers intertwined between them. They were munching on Hogwarts-shaped chocolates by the Lake when Magnus spoke up again.

“So, um,” he started, unsure of how to go on about this. He was absentmindedly tracing circles on the back of Alex’s hand with his thumb and Alex let himself enjoy the small gesture. “Annabeth told me that her dad wanted to see me, and I was kinda thinking about going over during summer.”

“Oh, nice,” Alex said as he took a sip from his cup.

“Yeah, and I was wondering… I mean, if you want… do you wanna come too?”

Alex didn’t spit his drink. No, that would be ridiculous. He choked on it.

“You want me to come with you to America?” He asked, coughing.

“Yeah, I mean…” Magnus sighed and rubbed at his neck with his free hand. “I asked Annabeth and she said it’s okay and it’ll be fun, so…?”

Alex beamed at him and kissed him on the lips. “Of course.”

Magnus smiled back and kissed Alex again. “This is going to be the best summer.”

“Hm, aren’t you excited to introduce me to your family?” Alex teased.

“Oh, you’ll probably burn a table or break a wall,” Magnus said, kissing Alex’s mocking pout. “You’ll fit right in.”

Alex chuckled, his breath warm against Magnus’s lips, and squeezed the blonde’s hand in his. It would be the best summer, he was sure, because it had been the best year.

Then, suddenly, the relative silence of conversation was interrupted by Raphael’s loud yell of, “Here comes the cake!”

Magnus turned around and, sure enough, there was Raphael and Louis pushing a large cart with the biggest cake Magnus had ever seen on top of it. It was even bigger than those triple layered wedding cakes! It was covered in white fondant, multicolored garlands and balloons decorating its edges. They all looked so delicate, down to the last detail. On the sides of each tier were the Three Tasks, each and every one made out of fondant. Magnus didn’t want to know how long it took to make, but it looked spectacular.

“Tada!” Louis said as he jumped out from behind the cart. “I made a cake to celebrate!”

“How… when did you even make this? How long did it even take?” Helga stammered out, staring at the cake’s decoration like a painting in a museum.

“Ah, you know, a bit,” Louis said, his cheeks coloring bashfully. “But I wanted to do something for the end of the Tournament, so I made my best cake. Dig in!”

House elves gave everybody forks and plates and the Headmasters cut the cake, giving the first three pieces to the Champions. Magnus’s last year at Hogwarts ended by eating chocolate cake with his friends, all of them sitting around a table and laughing together.

All was well. And it would get even better.

(Yes, I had to do the 'all was well' thing, come one, you know me)  (Also, I've been thinking that I really like the idea of trans!Louis since, like, the Yule Ball but I kept getting caught up in writing something else and forgot that I wanted to write it in until I had already posted the chapter, so sorry for only saying it in the last chapter)

And that's it! I can't tell you how proud I feel right now. I mean, I've been writing this since January and it's finally over. I wonder if that's what it feels likes when your child graduates... So yeah, I feel like a proud mama right now, but part of me knows I'm going to miss the constant stress and anxiety that comes with finding enough time to write and keep an update schedule (it's not bad during summer, but boy, was it something during the school year). I know that sounds bad, but I'm a masochistic shit and I kinda like it anyway.

I'm rambling. Anyway, what I wanted to say is THANK YOU SO MUCH to all of you for staying with me for this ride, through writer's block and gratuitous references and really slow slow burn. I can't tell you how much I've loved all your sweet comments, even when you were yelling at me for the slow burn being slower than a snail or how you hated Helga when she first showed up. Honestly, you've spoiled. How am I supposed to go without reading your comments? People have been telling me I seem more confident (my confidence is horrible, btw) or happier and I always think about how fun it was writing Bound X and this and you were all a big part of what made it so fun. So thank you :)

[hamkeepsnotes]

In The After - pt 1

Fic Summary: Recovery is perhaps the hardest part of war.

Chapter Summary: Ron has had far too many sleepless nights and is tired of always being strong. His brother helps him out.

Characters: Ron Weasley, Charlie Weasley

Words: 1926

Also on ao3

(July 13, 1998)

Ron woke, like most nights, in a cold sweat, screams echoing in his ears. He stared up at the ceiling of his bedroom, trying to calm his erratic heartbeat and unsteady breathing. If Harry or Hermione happened to hear, they would wake up, and there was nothing they needed less than another sleepless night.

Finally, he managed to calm down, but sleep still seemed to evade him. With a small sigh, he slipped out from between his bright orange sheets and carefully crept across the room. At the door, he paused to look over Hermione, sprawled on the floor in a sweat-soaked pile of blankets, and Harry, curled in a tight ball on his cot. They were okay. Ron felt his breathing come ever-so-slightly easier.

Carefully slipping out the creaky door was easy, something he had mastered at an excessively young age when he was still scared of the dark and the ghoul above his room. I’m just going to get a glass of water, then I’ll go back to bed, he told himself, fully aware that it was a lie. Still, he managed to convince himself that the sight of the constantly crackling fire in his mother’s kitchen and the clock with all hands pointing to ‘Home’ would be enough to make sleep come easy.

With a well-practiced ease, Ron crept down the stairs, skipping the especially creaky steps and floorboards out of habit. On each landing, he paused, listening for the sounds of his siblings’ breathing behind their bedroom doors. Percy and George in one room, Bill and Fleur in another, Ginny and Charlie in the last. They would all go back to their own beds before dawn, he knew, but for the moment, no one could bear to sleep alone after…well, after.

The two months following the battle had been hard for everyone, but especially George and Harry. Ron supposed having your twin die, or dying yourself, tended to do that to someone. He’d been managing okay himself, he supposed, putting on a happy face for the others and acting like everything was as fine as it could be, but at night… he was just as broken as everyone else. He couldn’t seem to get the blood covered red hair of Fred, the limp bodies of Tonks and Lupin, or the blood gushing out of Lavender’s throat out of his mind.

Why was he okay, when they weren’t?

Ron finally reached the kitchen, padding across the cold tiled floor to the sink and getting a glass jar out of the cupboard. Memories of waiting as Fred pulled the same jar out of the cupboard for a much shorter Ron flooded his mind. He nearly dropped the glass.

Fred’s dead , he scolded himself. There’s no use wishing it was different.

And yet… here he was, with an aching hole in his heart the size of his older brother.

“Couldn’t sleep either?”

The voice made Ron jump, whipping around to find the source. Charlie stood at the bottom the staircase, looking pale and small in the dim light. Ron couldn’t remember a time when his brother had ever looked small.

“Harry snores,” he lied, taking a sip of his water.

Charlie chuckled, crossing the room and leaning against the counter beside Ron. “Ginny does too, if you can believe it,” he replied, though something in his voice said he knew Ron was lying. “Forgot she did, but wow, that girl is louder than Dad.”

Ron stifled a snort. Their father had a habit of snoring so loudly he woke himself up at times. It was a wonder how their mother ever got any sleep.

There was a comfortable pause where Charlie busied himself with starting a pot of tea, seemingly just so he’d have something to do with his hands. He’d never been overly fond of tea, that Ron remembered, always favoring coffee after taking a trip with Tonks’ family one summer to America. Picking up their tradition of several large cups of coffee every morning had been one of their mother’s peeves, a habit he happened to share with Tonks.

The thought of the dead woman made Ron shudder, and he put down his water to bury his head in his hands.

Hermione had once said that he had the emotional range of a teaspoon, but that couldn’t be true, not anymore. The overwhelming sense of guilt and fear and outrage and pain and sadness filling his lungs all at once was enough to make anyone scream. He understood Cho Chang now more than ever.

Charlie pulled Ron’s hands away from his face and pressed a warm, chipped mug into his hands. “This will help,” he said with certainty, a small smile on his face.

“Thanks,” Ron replied awkwardly, clearing his throat when the word came out choked and scratchy.

Charlie frowned. “Okay,” he said firmly, grabbing Ron by the elbow and pulling him over to the rug in front of the fireplace that had been the home of many scary stories told on rainy evenings. “You’re hurting. Talk to me.”

Ron winced. He’d forgotten how blunt his brother could be, a habit he wished he could guess had been picked up from spending too much time around dragons, but was probably inherited from their mother. She could pick up on anything and wasn’t afraid of saying even the harshest thing.

“I’m fine, Charlie,” he said firmly, taking a sip of the tea. A feeling of warmth filled his stomach, the familiar sensation of a calming drought. Clearly, Charlie was concerned.

“No one expects you to be fine, you know,” his brother replied, eyebrows raised. “In fact, if you were, I think it’d be a bit concerning, given what you’ve gone through.”

“Well, I am,” Ron said, even though he knew that stubbornness never worked on Charlie. Nothing ever got past Charlie.

“You’re not. And you haven’t had a chance to talk about it. So talk.”

“Why do you even care?” Ron asked grumpily, setting down his mug so that he could cross his arms indignantly over his chest. “You’ve been off in Romania for ages, I’ve barely even seen you since you graduated.”

Something akin to hurt flickered across Charlie’s face before it was replaced with that same insufferable expression of concern. “I’m here now,” he pointed out. “And I care because I’m your brother. It’s my job to keep you safe, even if it’s from yourself.”

That hit too close to home. How could Charlie know about how much Ron was tearing himself apart inside?

“No one kept Fred safe,” he said instead, playing with the hem of his t-shirt. He blinked back the tears that threatened to fall out of his eyes. Ron didn’t cry. It was a side effect of growing up with five tough-as-nails brothers and an equally strong sister.

Charlie’s eyes softened even more, adopting an expression usually only reserved for his dragons and the occasional quidditch poster. “Ron, you didn’t kill Fred,” he said with the tone of someone who had said the words multiple times.

“I know that,” Ron said, annoyed. “But-“

“No buts,” Charlie said firmly, setting him with a glare that was still oddly gentle. “Not allowed. You didn’t do anything wrong, Ron. You fought to stop Voldemort and save our society. Fred’s death had nothing to do with you. You weren’t even there . You stood by Harry’s side more than anyone.”

Ron couldn’t keep it in any longer. “I left him and Hermione,” he admitted, eyes locked firmly on a particularly worn spot in the rug. Until now, this particular bit of information was kept between the trio and Bill and Fleur, an unspoken decision to never speak of the mistake. “I left them when they needed me most. And I didn’t save anything.”

A shuddering breath escaped his throat, and he swallowed hard against it. “I stood around as people got killed, and did nothing . I couldn’t even save my own brother.”

“Merlin, Ron, if that’s your logic, then we’re all horrible people,” Charlie argued. “No one could save everybody. Not even Harry Potter. Drink .”

The final word was added as Ron started shaking uncontrollably, tears slipping down his cheeks for the first time in years. The mug was thrust into his hands and Charlie forcibly lifted it to his lips, holding it there until he’d taken a few long sips and started to calm down again. Then they stared at each other, the heaviness of the moment weighing down on both their shoulders.

“I still hear the screams,” Ron said finally, biting on his lower lip. “I still feel it , you know?”

Charlie sighed, setting down his mug and sliding closer to his younger brother. “I know, Ronnie,” he said, earning a small nudge in the side from the ancient and incredibly embarrassing nickname. “I understand, but you can’t keep acting like it doesn’t bother you.”

“Why not?” Ron asked, feeling strangely like a small child. “Someone’s gotta be the strong one.”

“Not necessarily. D’ya think that Harry isn’t affected? Or Dad and Mum? Or Percy, or Ginny, or Bill, or even me? We’re all hurting, Ron. The only difference is we let ourselves confide in someone. We let ourselves cry.”

That was something Ron hadn’t thought of before. He had been trying to be strong for Harry and Hermione and his sister, especially, letting everyone cry to him. He had assumed that people like his brothers, except maybe with the exception of George, were pillars in their own right. But now that he thought about it…

“Who do you talk to?” Ron asked quietly, his voice so small he almost doubted Charlie could hear him.

Charlie chuckled. “Dad’s a good listener,” he replied easily, as though he wasn’t admitting to breakdowns and nightmares that Ron was just realizing they shared. “Bill too, think he gets it from dealing with me his entire life. I was a whiny, talkative, little monster.”

“You? Whiny?” Ron scoffed. “Yeah, right.”

“No, really, I was worse than you ,” he teased.

Ron laughed, taking a long sip of his tea. He sobered after a moment, thinking hard. Who could he talk to? There wasn’t anyone he wanted to bother with this, not when Bill had Fleur, the girls alternated between angry and in tears, George, Percy, and Harry had too much on their plates already, and his parents were just trying to keep it together in front of the family. (Though Mum did burst into tears at random, particularly when she caught a glimpse of George without Fred by his side or was reminded of how close she came to losing Ginny.)

“Can you be my person?” he asked slowly, looking up at the brother he’d idolized with a just-barely-hopeful face.

Charlie grinned. “’Course you can, little brother,” he replied gently. “Anytime you need me, all you need to do is ask. Even if I’m in Romania.”

That feeling of being small came back. “You won’t think I’m bothering you?”

His brother scoffed, rolling his eyes. “You could never bother me, I promise,” he said decisively. “I’m only a letter away.”

The two brothers fell into an easy conversation after that, carefully avoiding any talk of war or night terrors. In the morning, Molly found them curled up together in front of the still-crackling fire, discarded mugs by their sides. She took a sneaky picture and left them be, letting the smell of cooking bacon and the sound of footsteps running down the stairs wake them a few hours later.