SEA GREEN [PERCY JACKSON X HARRY POTTER]

#40

"Madam Pomfrey!"

"Is that you, Mr Jackson-" Madam Pomfrey ventured out of her office. Her eyes widened when she saw two unfamiliar faces, Percy, who was not even supposed to be in school, and an unconscious Harry and Ginny. "What in the name of Merlin?!"

"No time to explain," Percy breathed. He brought Harry to a nearby bed, Leo and Calypso doing the same for Ginny. "Harry got struck by fire. Ginny hit her head. Can you help them?"

"W-what's going on-"

"Can you help them?" Percy persisted.

Madam Pomfrey nodded. "I- well, I can."

She scurried over to her two new patients, checking their injuries and summoning vials of healing potions with a wave of her wand.

Working on Ginny first, she healed the cut and fed her a potion to restore the blood she had lost during the fight, one hand lifting Ginny's head and the other tilting every drip of the potion into the redhead's mouth.

"She hit her head really hard..." Madam Pomfrey muttered to herself, her forehead creasing in concentration. She spared a glance at Percy, Leo and Calypso. "What happened to her?"

"She and Harry were battling something. I'll explain later, but, Madam Pomfrey, an evil is rising. We tried to stop it, but-" Percy's voice faltered. "We couldn't do it. I'm worried he-Luke might bring danger to this whole school because of me."

Madam Pomfrey looked like she understood, even though she had no idea who Luke was and why he would want to hurt the school because of Percy.

She locked eyes with Percy. "Mr Jackson. Do not blame yourself, okay? Potter's brought chaos upon Hogwarts multiple times, but not once have I thought lesser of him. Ginny Weasley will be fine."

Percy nodded feebly. He normally wasn't like this, but the stress of having two of his friends- if they even counted him as a friend as of that moment- unconscious and hurt got to him. The uncertainty of whether the rest of his friends were still alive took a toll on him, too.

Then there was Annabeth. Gods, Percy would do anything to see her again. He wasn't sure if she had been saved or not, and that made him uneasy.

His life was just a big mess and he desperately wanted someone to fix it. He had to be in charge of others' problems for so long, why couldn't anyone take over and solve his problems for him when he felt like he couldn't handle it?

That was what Annabeth was for, he thought.

She was his balance. She was the one who would tell him that it would be okay and that he could fight through the pain. She was the one who kept him alive even when he had lost all of his memories and was struggling to seek shelter. She was the one that held his hand at night, and he would tell himself constantly that if he could feel her pulse, then his heart would always continue to beat.

But what happened when his life was spiralling out of control and Annabeth wasn't there?

She had been there from the very beginning. She had been there since the time his life started to go haywire. Now that she was gone and he wasn't even sure she was alive, he could feel hope slowly drain out of him.

Hope.

It was a funny word to Percy. He used to have hope in things. He had hope in people too. He had had hope in Luke. Not anymore. He didn't have hope in the situation he was in, either. Sure, Madam Pomfrey could heal Harry and Ginny, but, after the job was done, Percy didn't know if he would be able to see his other friends.

For all he knew, they could be dead, taking their last breath within the horrid walls of the Malfoy Manor.

For that brief moment, Percy had forgotten what it was like to have hope, until he heard her.

"Seaweed Brain," she whispered.

Percy whirled around, startled by the voice of Annabeth Chase. He almost didn't believe his eyes, but he knew she was there. She really was.

Annabeth was alive, and she was standing right in front of Percy. The space between them seemed to separate them by worlds, but when she ran forward and kissed him, he no longer felt that way.

She had instilled hope in him. She had reinstalled his sanity, and the moment her lips met his, he swore he felt whole again.

When she pulled away, her hands still around his neck, Percy couldn't help but take in her beauty. Her soft blonde hair was draped on her shoulders. Her grey eyes had a twinkle of mischief in them. Her lips, curved in a smirk, was teasing in a way Percy loved. Her nose was scrunched up slightly, giving her a carefree look, not at all suggesting that they were going to be caught in a war.

Then Annabeth caught sight of Leo and Calypso. She raised a brow like she didn't know how to react.

Appropriately, she punched Leo's shoulder. "What took you so long, Valdez?"

Leo grinned, stepping back slightly like he was afraid Annabeth would judo flip him for disappearing like Percy once had.

"Sorry. Did my second-in-command miss me?"

Annabeth laughed. Then she met Calypso's gaze, and her jaw went rigid. The air seemed to become still.

"Years ago, whenever I thought about meeting you, I always had the urge to hurt you the way Percy did when he left me for you," Calypso started. Percy and everyone else present inhaled sharply, finding Calypso's choice of words very daring.

When Annabeth didn't say anything, Calypso continued, "Never did I imagine a scenario that I would have to apologise to you. But I know it is necessary. I have to because of what I did, and I want you to know I'm sorry."

"Why did you do it?" Annabeth's voice was small.

"I was jealous," Calypso answered. She didn't fail to notice that Annabeth had not shown any sign that she accept her apology. "It was a horrible thing to do, I know. I- I don't even know why I did it. It was out of bitterness and, at the time, I never even considered that you would've gotten inflicted by my curse. But those are excuses, not reasons. There is no justifying my behaviour. It was childish and cruel. If you wish not to speak to me, I am fine with that. It is the punishment of my inhumanity. I am to be responsible for my own rash actions."

Annabeth took a deep breath.

"When Percy mentioned that you were alive and that you and Leo were in the same country as us, I thought of many different ways to reply to your apology, if you ever said one.

"So here's my response: I will never understand your actions. I will never understand what went through your mind as you spoke the words that carved pain into my soul, but I do know one thing, and it's that holding a grudge against you would be pointless. I know that I have every reason to want nothing to do with you, but a war is approaching and there are more matters that we have to attend to. Pushing you aside will not  work in either one of our favours. Holding a grudge will only make matters worse. I say this because I want the best for everyone in this room. If Leo saw something in you, then I believe him. I forgive you."