Intertwined || Percabeth Hogwarts AU

Chapter 69

"Heads up, Seaweed Brain!"

The grin fell off his face when her spell brought the carpet under them alive, coiling and springing to strike him like a king cobra. Her spells were always precise and calculated. He burnt through it easily enough but the breath was forced out of his lungs when Annabeth swept forward through the space between them, a predatory grace behind her step, and tackled him.

"Shit—!"

Percy's back slammed into the ground, letting out a loose groan of pain, as Annabeth lay over him, propping herself up with one hand on his chest and her wand at his throat.

"Yield, Percy!"

Sea green eyes locked onto stormy gray for a moment that seemed endless. Annabeth could see flecks of amber in his irises as he stared up at her. Their breathing filled the silence in the room. A drop of sweat rolled down her nose and fell on his forehead, snapping Percy out of a trance.

His Adam's apple bobbed, knocking against her wand in a way that was kind of uncomfortable but her weight on him certainly made up for that. Physical contact was actually barred during these duels but Percy would never deny himself of an opportunity to be close to his girlfriend.

"You're a goddess," Percy said in an exhale, smiling up at her, content to stay like this forever.

Annabeth flushed, unable to help the color that rose to her cheeks. She could feel the heat rise from Percy's body, hard muscle tense and his heartbeat racing under her hand as if it were beating in her own chest. It was intimate and beautiful, and she wanted to revel in this feeling for as long as she could.

But then —

Something hard and pointy pressed against her stomach. His smirking face glinted at her and she laughed breathlessly. Of course.

Leaning down, she whispered, "Is that your wand or are you just happy to see me?"

"It's about to be both," he said in the same tone.

Annabeth swallowed roughly and dropped her wand to cup his cheek. Her hair had fallen out of its tie and hung to the floor like a curtain, obscuring their faces from view.

"Would it be inappropriate for me to kiss you right now?"

"I certainly wouldn't complain," Percy murmured, starting to lean up, their duel forgotten.

But before their lips could touch, Chiron clapped to get their attention back to him. They jolted and looked up, remembering that they were indeed in class with at least a hundred students staring at them. And, of course, Chiron too; he had an amused yet slightly chastising look on his face that made them turn sheepish.

"We'll call that one a draw," Chiron surmised as Percy and Annabeth untangled themselves from each other and stood up, blushing furiously. Sparing them further embarrassment, he called out, "Alright, Nico, Thalia. You're up next and then we'll call it for the day."

As the two of them passed Percy and Annabeth, Nico gave him a knowing smirk, rolling his eyes while Thalia had no regard for cunning.

"Didn't know you kiddies were into voyeur," she said loudly, laying a hand on each of their shoulders and staring at them with an all too wide grin, her electric eyes sparkling. "They grow up so fast."

Percy shoved her hand away, trying not to laugh. "Fuck off," he said at same time Annabeth hissed Thalia but the damage had already been done. The entire class broke into chuckles.

With a ducked chin, Annabeth dragged Percy into the crowd and tried not to draw any more attention to them. But with Nico and Thalia's duel starting, they were spared. And as per usual, it started off with a bang, electricity coursing and circling the stage. Thalia knew nothing of subtlety, but then again, they couldn't really talk.

Nico was no slouch, however.

His nonchalant, introverted personality quickly disappeared when in the midst of a duel. Like Percy, he had a rush for battle; it was the only time his neutral façade broke and was replaced by an invigorated excitement. And when the entire room turned black, the shadows converging from Nico's magic, everyone knew this duel would take a while.

It was almost time for lunch when class ended.

The students filed out, chattering amongst themselves as they walked through the hallways, when they heard, "Coming through! Clear the middle!"

Everyone recognized the voice immediately.

It was Harry accompanied by two other Aurors flanking him as they hurriedly made their way down the corridor. Percy went to wave, but faltered at the serious looks on their faces. Even Harry's normally easygoing expression had contorted into a grim one. Rigid, alert.

And there was a small wooden box clutched in his hands, intricate black markings tracing its edges. As the three Aurors passed by, urgency behind their step, whispers arose.

Something was clearly amiss.

Percy felt Annabeth grip his arm tight. He placed his hand over hers and squeezed back. She knew just as well as he did that Poseidon was involved somehow.

"Have you noticed how often Aurors have been visiting the school?" Nico asked when they'd gone. "I've seen quite a few walking the grounds before today. And now Harry's here too. That can't be normal."

"Yeah," Thalia murmured. "I was thinking the same thing."

Their eyes turned to Percy for obvious reasons. He had shared the bit of information he'd been given with them. Wariness began to settle in their features.

Nico was the one to voice it. "What do you think it is, Perce? Have you heard anything else from your dad?"

"We haven't spoken in almost a month," Percy admitted, glancing down at his watch. "Go on to lunch, I need to send an owl. I'll see you guys in a bit, okay?"

Annabeth looked at him, holding his gaze for a moment and an understanding passed between them. She nodded and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"Okay."

That night the entire castle pulsed with a purple light. 

.......

Notes: thank you so much for making it this far! i love all of you for reading, commenting, and supporting me thus far. i had no idea that i'd have a response of this magnitude for this fic. you guys are truly the best <3

unfortunately, the next roll of updates wont be daily anymore and might take quite a while due to some irl things. sorry :(

but in the meantime i'll get around to posting some of my other stories on here :)