At first glance, Percy Jackson is the son of Poseidon, the Hero of Olympus, survivor of Tartarus, the defeater of Monsters; but deep within his roots stems magic that reaches into another world: the world of wizards and witches and dark lords and on...
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"Are you sure we're going the right way?"
"Of course I'm sure!"
"Are you sure you're sure?"
"Piper!"
"What?" Piper practically yelled. "I'm in no mood for getting lost!"
Percy huffed and turned back to the muggle map that they had been trying to follow. They were meant to find a new hideout for the werewolves Remus had gathered but it was not going so smoothly. Annabeth had marked the perfect place on the map but neither Percy nor Piper were good with that stuff being Dyslexic and not exactly... with it. Not to mention, Piper was in an awful mood, although Percy did not blame her in the slightest; it was just two days away from the first anniversary of Jason's death, after all, so Percy made himself patient.
He honestly did not think it was even a good idea for Piper to be out here; the woman got reckless when upset and this was not that type of mission, especially considering the place was deep in Dementor territory, right on the coast of the sea to Azkaban. Yet, here they were. Annabeth had insisted; said that it would do Piper some good. Percy, for once, doubted her.
"This way," Percy said absently, pointing them down another path deeper into the woods, wand lighting the way.
"We better be going the right way, Percy."
He glanced at the map. "Yeah."
They continued on in silence for a while, their only company being the darkness and tension. They had not spent so much time together in... a while. Too long. Maybe even since before Cedric died.
"So," Piper eventually broke the silence. "Where have you been?"
Percy frowned. His arm tingled. "Busy with missions," he finally sighed. "Not to mention, wedding planning."
Piper chuckled. "Like you're planning anything, Perce. Beth'll be doing all the work."
"Hey! I... helped with the flowers."
"They're blue, aren't they?"
"Blue and green," Percy quipped, voice high pitched and exaggerating. He turned towards Piper, walking backwards.
Piper folded her arms and smirked. "You're going to walk into a tree."
Percy raised his eyebrows skeptically. "Sure. You're just trying to make me- Ow!"
The daughter of Aphrodite laughed loudly, eventually covering her mouth to stop herself as Percy rubbed the back of his head. He had, indeed, walked into a tree. Well, it was a low branch but that is connected to the tree and-
Shut up, ADHD.
"I told you," Piper sang as she came up beside him, dragging him back onto the path. "Now, come on. We're almost there."
Percy frowned. "How do you know?"
Piper smirked once again and pointed. Following the direction of her finger, Percy saw a large oak tree in front of them, probably the size of his whole bathroom, and in the centre of it was a large door.
He hummed. "Right."
However, before they could get to the door, a voice stopped them.
"Wonder what's two little magics doing out here in the woods... all alone?"
Both demigods whirled around, wands drawn, to face what looked like a stray drunkard upon first glance but who looked far more deadly after being studied closer.
A bounty hunter, Percy realized. He was probably working for Voldemort and had most likely been tracking them for a few hours, although they were both too distracted to notice.
The hunter jumped down from his perch upon the hillside and into the little cove where they had found the tree. Again, Percy had been too distracted to notice those facts at first, but now he quickly realized that they were trapped. He lowered his stance, moving his feet slightly farther apart and holding his wand tighter.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Percy asked.
The bounty hunter smirked and raised his wand. "My Lord will pay a handsome price for your heads. I think the risk is worth it, don't you?"
"Not exactly," Percy answered. "One more warning, that's all you're getting."
The man just grinned, showing moulding yellow teeth and a maniac glint in the eye.
Without warning, a spell shot from the end of Percy's wand. The blue magic spun towards the hunter but was easily deflected, instead flying straight into a tree. And not just any tree; the tree.
Percy sighed. "Oh man."
With a wheeze and a crack, it toppled.
"Move!" Percy yelled. He and Piper split up, narrowly avoiding the oversized piece of parchment. The door to the inside crackled and snapped under the pressure as the wood fell clean apart. It slammed into the ground, knocking Percy back in the process, and it all went black.
~•~
"Percy! Percy! Wake up!"
Slowly, Percy's eyes flickered open to see a beautiful sky of colors. Pink, orange and violet mixed together with the rising sun over the forest tree. In between, Piper stood over him, looking pale-faced and covered in dirt. Her eyes shone.
"Hi," Percy grunted out. His head hurt.
He expected a slap or a laugh, but not Piper throwing herself at him in a desperate hug. Eyes wide, Percy slowly sat up, still hugging her.
Percy found it odd; Piper had never done this with anyone, not as far as he knew. Perhaps only Jason, if the man was lucky enough. Piper never let her guard down for anyone, even those closest to her; a survival instinct, one could call it.
Now, Percy was never one for sympathy. It was something he hated receiving and so hated giving; yet, he couldn't help it now. Had it been Annabeth... he did not want to know what would have happened then. He wondered how Piper had remained so strong throughout the year, how she got up every morning and drew her knife. How she lived throughout the day. How she was still sane?
But... was she really that strong?
At that moment, Percy felt the tears soaking his shirt. If possible, he clutched the daughter of Aphrodite tighter as realization hit him face first with a hard slap.
"Sh," he whispered to his best friend. "It's okay. I'm alright."
"I thought I lost you," Piper suddenly sobbed, balling his shirt in her fists desperately. "Don't ever do that to me again!"
"I—"
"I'm serious!" Piper drew back. Percy was surprised to see her face red and eyes swollen with tears as more slid down her cheeks. She shook ever so slightly, her knuckles on his shoulders white with effort. "Percy, you're the only friend I have left."
Percy sighed softly in understanding and gently pulled her back into another hug, this one less fierce but even more important.
"I'm not going anywhere, Pipes; I promise."
"No," Piper sobbed. "Don't say that. You know that's a promise you can't keep."
He knew.
"Then," he whispered, "in that case, I will never leave you. No matter what form I'm in."
