Heroes at Hogwarts

sixty-eight | epilogue

percy

Percy smiled as he handed Harry the bead. It was the third time he'd done so, and helped Harry tie the leather string behind his beck. Tyson clapped his big hands and giggled. 

Annabeth giggled, head resting on Percy's shoulder. Back at the main table, Ginny winked at Harry, and Ron sent him finger guns. Hermione rolled her eyes at both of them. 

Camp Half Blood and the wizarding world had been working together for three summers now. The camp took in wizards with bad home lives for the summer, and the school took in demigods that wished to learn magic during the year. 

Harry was a part of that travelling crowd. Percy missed seeing his brother year round, but he had more important things to do than learn spells and charms. 

The gods had ended up following through with his proposition. Percy hadn't thought there was actually any way it was taken into consideration- but here they were. 

Gaea was loving and nurturing- exactly what you'd expect from Mother Earth. Grover and her worked together to improve and protect nature. They'd done so much already, that Percy wouldn't be surprised if Pan was reborn. 

Bob and Damasen visited every time Tartarus or Nyx did, which was regularly. They enjoyed the fresh air- and the stars. 

Kronos and the other Titans had fixed up Mount Othrys almost immediately, and now they took turns with the gods of their realms. Apollo and Helios alternated on rising the sun, Kronos and Zeus worked together to lead the immortals, Atlas, Athena, and Ares drew up war strategies- but there was no reason to use them. Everything was peaceful. 

Annabeth sighed contently on his shoulder. Percy wound his arm around her. They'd both finished their studies at New Rome in a year and a half- insanely fast, even for Annabeth. Somehow, Percy had kept up. Annabeth was now a well-known architect in New York. Percy worked as the lead biologist at the aquariums. Nico said that was cheating. Percy told him he could always be a mortician- which earned him a kick in the shins.  

Harry studied the bead. This years bead had a lightning strike- tribute to the young son of Zeus, Cedric Diggory, that had been claimed earlier that summer. He'd caused quite the fuss with demigods and wizards. 

Percy studied his own necklace. The other two newer beads, a wand and Mount Othrys, had both been good years for him. Of course, even without the gods and Titans fighting, big things has still happened. There was still the matter of being a son of Tartarus- and being engaged. 

Annabeth had said yes, of course, when Percy threw her an apple one afternoon. He was praying to the gods she'd get the gist and not just chide him for throwing food. At first she'd just stared at the fruit- but then she turned around to him on one knee (and Harry, staring in shock). He'd never seen her cry so hard either, which surprised him. They were to be married here, on the beach, right at the beginning of next summer- before the gods could issue another summer-long quest. 

Ginny and Harry were still going strong, Percy was sure Harry was soon to pop the question. They also thought they were fooling everyone, but Percy knew they sneaked out to the lake most nights. He could not only feel the tug of the water, sense the emptiness of the cabin, but also hear Ginny's little giggles. The two made Percy shake his head and laugh. 

"Hey, Percy, you ready?" Jason called from the Zeus table. Cedric and Thalia smiled back at him in challenge. 

"Duh, we're ready!" Percy called back. 

He and Jason were leading tonight's final capture the flag game, and later (after Percy's team has won, of course) Will, Kayla, and Austin would lead them all at the campfire. 

"Red team, let's go!" Jason rounded up his troops, and they left for the other side of the creek. 

Percy turned to the people in blue flumes. Luke sided up to him and Annabeth, and Ginny brandished her helmet as Harry put on his own. 

"Lets take them down," Hazel said as she clipped her armor. A cry went up from the blue team, and they marched toward the tree line. 

Sometimes, Percy thought back to the morning Chiron had called them into the rec room. Sometimes, Percy thought about the first time he learned he had another brother. Sometimes, Percy thought back to the Slytherin common room, to Draco and McGonagall and Blaise. Sometimes, he wanted to go back to Hogwarts, to being just another student in the crowd with friends and people everywhere. Sometimes, he missed the wizarding world. 

But not enough to go back. 

They rushed across the creek, and shouting ensued. Somewhere to his left, Reyna and Blaise yelled at each other. Will and Austin shoulder in surprise. Behind him, Annabeth laughed and jumped on Frank's back. The shapeshifter simply turned into a bird and shook her off. Ginny winked at Percy, and vanished. Wizarding trick- and they didn't need shadows to travel. She'd have the flag in no time.

Percy laughed to himself. For the first time in his life since he was twelve, he wasn't worried about the next day, the next quest, or the next villain. He was done holding his breath- he got to exhale now. Of course, Percy was still hurting. Some nights he woke up to a sharp pain in his back- his Achilles heel. Some days he couldn't bear to look at the lake. Sometimes he wanted to hide in the woods. 

When they first got back, Nico was the only one to cue in on Percy's darkness. The son of Hades must have remembered a time when Percy was the only one to see his darkness, because Nico had come to the beach one afternoon, when Percy was all alone. He'd sat down next to Percy in the sand, even though Nico hated sand and how it stuck to everything. He was holding two statues, action figures Percy recognized from another lifetime- Mythomagic figurines. Nico shoved the one holding the trident into Percy's hands and smiled. "Someone once told me it's okay to be a kid once in a while," he'd said.

Percy kept the Poseidon statue on his bedside. On days when he knew were going to be rough, he carried it in his pack. He wasn't alright, he wasn't perfectly happy. Everyone knew, and they knew when to give him his space. He was still coming to terms with the Tartarus voices and darkness that traveled everywhere with him now.

He wasn't alright, but he was getting better every day. And with Annabeth, his brothers, his friends, and hope for the future, Percy could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.