Choices || Harry Potter [HP X PJO]

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My mind was spinning as I gasped for breath, the feeling of a thousand knives slashing into my body, burning my skin, overwhelming anything else. Was this supposed to happen? Why hadn't the book mentioned it? Had I done something wrong?

Then it was like a fog lifted. It felt like rain, washing away the pain one drop at a time, though I knew it was just my imagination. It was cooling the fire, rinsing away the cuts. I felt a feeling leave my body in a pink mist, a feeling that had been with me since birth. Not my powers, but as I smelled the wafting scent of lemons, coconuts, and ozone, I knew it was done. The mist settled once again, deeper, as the scent disappeared, only to reappear should I call upon it.

Laughter bubbled out of my mouth. I had done it. I was free. Free of the constant danger, free of the monsters that would hunt me down every day. I was hidden, veiled in plain sight. The scent, the mist, my aura, was deeper than I thought possible, the scent more absent than ever before, yet right in front of me, a scent that only I could smell. The monsters wouldn't be able to trace me anymore.

I rolled over to see Draco sighing with relief. "Damn, Scorpia," he grinned. "Couldn't you have told me the process was a little painful?"

"I wish I knew," I said, then said, "Actually, I don't. I'm glad I didn't know, I would have been more hesitant. It was better this way, cut and dry, and it didn't last too long."

Draco nodded. "Fair, Scorp. Fair. When did you get so wise? Here I though I was the son of Athena!"

I laughed sadly. "You should be glad you didn't get as wise as I did, Draco. I've seen too much... it does something to a person."

He gazed at me, guilt burning in his gaze. "I should have been there. For you, at least."

"I'm glad you weren't," I whispered. "I'm so glad you weren't. I'm glad you got to have a kind of normal childhood, at the least. The rest of us... we're warriors, now, Draco, but we're still kids, and I'm glad you got to escape when you had the chance."

He said nothing to that, but rapped an arm around me as I cuddled into his side. I felt the jealousy in me wash away—everything I said was true, and I could never be more grateful that he wasn't there with the rest of us, fighting for our lives. I was glad that he was safe here, for the time being at least.

We laid there for the whole night, just comfortable in each other's presence, curled up against each other like we had on quests so many countless nights before. We said nothing, just comforted by being there as we stared out at the stars glittering overhead.

"He would have been happy," Draco said as the sky started to lighten. 

I turned my head to look at him, but he was still staring at the sky. I didn't need to ask to know who he was talking about. "Why?"

"Because, as of right now, you're safe. The war is over, the gods have promised to claim their children and the minor gods have a cabin at camp. It's not balance, there never will be such thing, but the scale is..."

"Less unbalanced," I finished, knowing exactly what he was thinking. 

"Do you ever think about what he would say to you?" Draco said. 

"All the time, Draco, all the time," I whispered sadly. It was true. Right now, I could imagine Ethan's blank face, a shield he kept up that I had only seen come down a few times, slowly break into a smirk. "Balance always prevails," he would have said. It was his mantra, and it had taken everything from him in the end.

After about fifteen minutes of silence, I propped myself up on my elbows, standing to stand. "We should get back to our common rooms before people start to wake up."