The Switch (pjo/hp)

Chapter 10: Alright, Maybe Two Strengths from Within

No matter how much Percy tried, he couldn't think of a way water would possibly help fight off a dragon - What, was he going to give the dragon a bath?

He sighed as he failed, once again, to master the disarming spell. "Ugh, magic just isn't for me!"

"You're not even trying at this point," Draco narrowed his eyes. "You won't be able to fend off a dragon by whining, will you?"

"I know, I know!" Percy groaned as he placed his wand on one of the desks. They were, again, in an empty classroom, practising spells. The first task was in two days. Two days! And he still couldn't cast as much as a simple stunning spell. This was ridiculous. "I just can't anymore. I'll go die, and I'll be accepting it."

And before Draco could stop him, he stormed off. He was roadkill - there was no way in Hades he would survive. His emotions were overwhelming him. His eyes stung with tears, but he quickly blinked them away - he was not going to cry. He didn't even know where his legs were carrying him, and before he knew it, he sitting by the lake again.

A little more comforted, he sighed miserably. What was he going to do? He could run away, and try to find Nico - that sounded a lot better than facing a dragon. But he still had two days to come up with something, and he was not a quitter.

He threw his shoes off and dipped his feet into the water. It was relaxing, and he felt at home. Suddenly, he was hit with a memory.

"Percy, wait up!" A deep voice yelled as Percy ran. He was on the beach, laughing as Nico was trying to catch up to him.

"Nope!" Percy popped the 'p'. "Come catch me yourself!"

Five seconds later, he was in Nico's arms. "Hey, no fair!" Percy whined. "Shadow travelling's cheating!"

"You never said anything against it," Nico smiled, as he kissed Percy's neck. Percy laughed and turned around to face Nico. "I love your eyes. They're a giveaway, though."

"A giveaway? To what?"

"You're parentage."

"Mm," Percy responded, as he stuffed his face into Nico's chest. He felt Nico's fingers tangle up in his hair, playing with it in a swirly motion. "You smell good."

"Yeah?" Nico chuckled, and Percy nodded into his shirt. Nico lifted his face, leaning his forehead onto Percy's.

"Yeah," Percy whispered back, leaning in more. His warm lips moved against Nico's cold ones. It felt so good because Percy was always so warm. He pulled away, and Nico held him close.

Percy closed his eyes, cherishing the memory, and holding onto it. Gods, did he want to leave this place - he wasn't exactly making good memories here.

But thinking back on it, there was something strange - how did Nico teleport to him? What did he call it, shadow travel? Did all his friends have powers like him?

"Hey, Percy."

Percy scowled, annoyed at Draco for disturbing his peace, but it quickly went away remembering everything Draco was doing for him. "Hm?"

Draco sat down next to him. "I hope you've calmed down. I understand the stress you're going through, I do. Maybe you could use something other than magic."

"About that..." Percy scratched the back of his neck. Draco raised an eyebrow. Percy then proceeded to explain his ability over the water. When he was done, Draco's mouth hung open.

"And you waited this long to tell me!?" Draco said, recovering from his shock. "You didn't use your wand?"

"Nope," Percy smiled.