Percy Jackson and the Heir of Slytherin [Book 2]

Fourth of July Special

Takes place in the summer before second year.

Living in Britain while being American was awkward enough. Now, it was the Fourth of July.

Percy had always found a way to celebrate, even if it wasn't the most... legal.

Of course, this had to be the one year he was caught.

"Perseus Jackson, I cannot believe you thought stealing fireworks would be a good idea!" Luke said, dragging Percy out of the police department behind him.

Percy didn't say anything. He was expecting Luke to yell, maybe hit him. He deserved it.

Luke just opened the car door for Percy, this disappointed look on his face.

Percy honestly would have preferred for Luke to hit him.

He's waiting to hit me when we get home, Percy thought. Gabe would have never hit him in front of someone else. Luke was smart, he'd probably be the same.

Except Luke didn't.

Percy flinched the moment Luke spoke, but it didn't come with a hit, like he was expecting.

"Go to your room," Luke said tiredly, still looking disappointed, as if Percy had broken his heart by trying to steal some fireworks. Luke's dad was Hermes, the god of thieves, why was he so mad?

Percy nodded numbly, walking to his room. For a moment, he wanted to slam the door. He wanted Luke to get mad. He wanted that sad look off of his brother's face, and he would happily tear the house down just to replace it with anger.

But Luke didn't deserve that.

Percy closed the door normally.

He immediately walked over to his dresser, grabbing the photograph off of the top. It was one he and his mom had taken three days before she died. They were staring down at the camera, bright smiles on their faces, and colorful explosions of fireworks dotted the space behind them.

Mom wouldn't have gotten mad, either, Percy thought numbly.

Percy didn't know when he got to his bed, but the next thing he knew, he was sitting down, his hands shaking as he stared at the picture, tears splashing on the glass of the frame.

Percy didn't acknowledge the knock on his door, or Luke's quiet call of, "Percy?" He just sat there, unable to move and unable to stop crying.

He felt Luke gently take the picture away from him, and he heard the slight inhale of his brother's breath at the sight, but he still couldn't move or stop crying.

"I'm sorry, Perce, I didn't know," Luke whispered, wrapping his arms around Percy for a hug.

Percy's body finally decided to move, and he found himself hugging Luke tighter than he ever had before.

They stayed like that for a long time.

***

"Percy, wake up!"

Percy opened his eyes tiredly, seeing Luke standing over him.

"Come on, get dressed, we've got stuff to do," Luke said, yanking the blankets off of Percy and ignoring the whine from his little brother.

Once Percy got dressed, Luke dragged home out to some clearing Percy hadn't been to before. That's when Percy noticed the pile of fireworks.

"What?" Percy looked down at them, surprise clear in his voice.

"You've had fireworks every year now, I'm not going to break the streak," Luke said, smiling. "Of course, I think fireworks are dumb, because America sucks, but whatever. Also, you don't get to light them, I don't trust you to not burn yourself."

Percy grinned. He had burned himself several times already.

***

As they stared up at the blue fireworks in the sky — Luke looking like he liked the fireworks a lot more than he had let on — Percy said, "Thank you."

Luke just smiled.

Happy Independence Day! I know some of you are not from America and don't celebrate the Fourth of July, but I meant this to celebrate everybody's independence days. Your country gaining independence is very important, and it's all cool. So the fireworks are for everyone. If you don't have an Independence Day, I would be happy to share the fourth with you, and I hope you all have a lovely time.

I would also like to note that Luke most definitely stole those fireworks, but he left money in the register.