Intertwined || Percabeth Hogwarts AU

Chapter 14

The two stood up and made their way to the middle of the room while those who would be spectating backed up. The rumors of their fight last year were deemed true based on the way they had practically ignored each other the entire. It felt almost foreign not seeing the two of them laughing together.

Percy's eyes locked onto Annabeth's and she instantly flinched. She took a breath and steeled herself, reminding herself that this was Percy. Percy's jaw was set as he gripped his wand tightly and made his way over to her. His shoes made loud thumps in the eerily silent room. Each step he took increased Annabeth's nervousness as she approached him.

They bowed and got into the combative position, awaiting Harry's signal to begin.

When he finally did so, not a second passed before Percy fired a strong Stupefy towards Annabeth. She was able to block it at the last second it had sent her staggering back. Her head jerked to glare up at Percy but he was already in the motion of firing another spell.

She hastily cast a Protego and moved to fire a curse of her own. Percy sidestepped her slashing curse, but it nicked his cheek forming a shallow gash. Blood dripped down his face but he paid it no mind and shot off continuous curses at her.

Neither made any headway as they continued to deflect and fire spells at each other. It was almost like a dance. Their movements were fluid and seemingly choreographed, a testament of how well they knew each other.

Are all kids this strong nowadays or was my generation just lacking? Harry thought to himself, incredulously. He wordlessly cast a protective ward around the middle of the room just in case one of these destructive spells went astray.

"Petrificus Totalus!"

"Petrificus Totalus!"

Their respective full body-bind curses flew at the other making the two of them simultaneously duck to the right to avoid it. After landing, their gazes were instantly on the other as they slowly moved around each other in a circle, awaiting the right moment to strike.

"Nice moves, Perce," Annabeth tried with a small smile.

She missed their banter between each duel. It used to be the thing that made all of their duels fun but this time, it seemed to only make Percy angrier. His eyes narrowed and poured into her entire being, unsettling her. That customary warmth in his sea green irises was nowhere to be found.

Annabeth's eyes widened when Percy waved his wand in a circular motion above him and the giant gargoyle statues in the room broke from their positions and followed the motion of Percy's wand. The swirled in the air ominously and she knew what would come next.

Percy flicked his wand in her direction and the floating statues all flew at her with alarming speed. She braced herself and pointed her wand in front of her, holding it with both hands, hoping her next spell would work. If not, well...

"REDUCTO!"

Her curse impacted the incoming projectiles with a force she had never produced before. The statues burst apart, reduced to rubble and dust and she spotted a silhouette through the smoke. When the dust cleared, she saw that Percy was looking at her with something akin to respect.

A burst of pride swelled through her as she stood panting. Although it wasn't because of her prowess, but for the simple fact that Percy had looked at her with an emotion other than indifference or anger. Then he went and surprised her again by lowering his wand and crossing his arms. He was waiting for her to catch her breath, she realized.

She took a deep, steadying breath and nodded at him gratefully. Percy's face remained neutral and he took up his stance again.

They went back and forth exchanging spells nearing a stalemate when Annabeth doubled over panting. Sweat dripped down her face and fell to the floor from exhaustion. The duel had been going on for quite a while and she felt her magic reserves waning from exertion.

Annabeth knew she only had one more big spell in her. With the thought weighing in her mind, she looked gravely at Percy. He was breathing heavily but was in better shape than her. She cursed his stamina—that was his biggest advantage over her. She gulped down a breath and stood up, pointing her wand at him.

"INCENDIO!"

"AQUACIO!"

A column of bright, golden flames crashed into a fierce, destructive torrent of water like two cannon blasts. They fought for control, struggling and gritting their teeth as they tried to overpower the other. Their wands were shaking and vibrating as if an electric charge surged through them. But inch by inch, Percy's spell pushed back Annabeth's flames and she was soon overwhelmed by its sheer ferocity.

She lay flat on her back, soaked head to toe. She gasped and greedily took gulps of air, her teeth chattering from the ice cold water. Her joints groaned in protest as she tried to stand up. Amidst her motions, she caught sight of Percy again and her eyes widened in horror.

A Diffindo came full force at her forcing Annabeth to roll to the side to try and avoid it, unable to iterate a spell in time. The severing curse grazed her arm causing a deep gash to appear on the top of her right forearm. She let out a cry of pain as blood rapidly gushed out of her wound and she clutched at it, gritting her teeth in pain.

Her grip on her wand wavered and the vinewood cluttered uselessly to the floor. A defeated expression crossed her face and tears unwillingly filled her eyes as she gazed up at Percy.

He was panting heavily but his steely, indifferent expression was still firmly set. His eyes softened slightly as he took in her crumpled form before returning to its earlier intensity. Snapping his wand to the side, he turned around and walked back into the crowd.

He never looked back.