The Golden Wand [Harry Potter/Percy Jackson]

Chapter 60: The Award Ceremony

Harry POV:

After my fall (in which Dumbledore saved me from splatting on the floor) I was greeted instantly by Sirius. We were ushered into my tent where we could enjoy a moment of quiet. We hugged for quite a while.

"I'm proud of you, Harry," his eyes beamed at me. "So proud. Your parents would be too, if they saw how well you just performed."

I caught a slight hint of apprehension in his voice. 

"I'm not upset, Sirius," I answered. He hesitated. "No, seriously, I'm not. If anything... I'm relieved. I mean, you saw how well everyone was fighting up there. When there's talent like that, I don't mind losing to it."

He leant back slightly and stared at me in the eyes, until finally his face broke into a smile and he clapped me on my shoulder. 

"You couldn't be more like Lily if you tried," he chuckled. I felt a warm sort of happiness spread inside me. "So humble, so courageous, so kind... so fierce. Just like her. I wish they were here to see you like this."

"They are here, really," I said sadly. "And now I have you, and Remus, and the Weasley's and... Hermione!"

I rushed out of the tent and joined my friends in the crowd. Everyone was staring at a massive screen in the middle of arena, which portrayed the three remaining competitors stuck in an astoundingly powerful battle. Way up high, I saw the glass platform surrounded by a ring of fire. 

In the crowd, Piper was by far the loudest and most excitable student. She was wearing a mixture of Goode Orange and Gryffindor Red, and she was on her feet screaming at the top of her lungs. To my surprise, it was Hermione she cheered for most. Next to her, Leo and Calypso were dressed in orange and waved interesting posters in their hands; whereas Leo's said "PERCY SUCKS, ANNABETH FOR THE WIN!", Calypso's poster read "LEO'S WRONG, JACKSON RULES!". They were arguing loudly. And next to all three of them sat Draco, rigid and nervous looking, staring up at the screen biting his nails. 

I smiled and sat down next to him, clapping him on the back. 

"Lighten up, dude, Hermione's got this," I reassured him. "She's going to-"

"-FUCK OFF PERCY JACKSON I AM GOING TO RIP YOUR FUCKING HEAD OFF!" Piper bellowed, shaking her fist up to the screen. I followed her gaze and saw what was being displayed on the screen. Percy stood over Hermione, who looked as if she were choking to death, and far away lay a wandless Annabeth, watching on with panicked eyes. 

"GO PERCY! GO PERCY!" Calypso cheered. Leo scoffed and tried to grab the poster from her hands. 

"My boy Percy has got this!" Jason laughed. Katie smiled and clapped his hand. Reyna scowled and punched both their arms. 

"Annabeth's still going to win," Hazel argued. 

"O-or Hermione," Piper butted in. 

"How are they going to win? Percy's clearly winning!" Grover objected. 

"Oh, you just wait until my girl goes full-Annabeth," Thalia grinned. "She's about to kick ass."

And sure enough, true to Thalia's word, Annabeth did indeed go full-Annabeth. And by that I mean she used some seriously powerful magic. It turns out that Annabeth doesn't even need a wand to use magic, and it was fucking impressive. The whole crowd went silent for a moment, just watching as Annabeth got rid of Percy and then dueled Hermione, still without a wand. We all just stared, open mouthed, in awe. Even Cedric stopped talking through the speaker system about how he would have won by now if he were fighting with them; Annabeth had done the impossible, she had made Diggory speechless.