Always Protect

Chapter 21

Percy woke up several times for short periods before he woke up completely. He remembered brief flashes of things, like a boy who would look like a stereotypical surfer dude if not for the many eyes covering him, familiar blond hair, chocolate chip cookies that he'd made with Harry the summer before.

When the young wizard finally woke up fully, it was to a familiar face.

"Annabeth? What's going on? Where am I?"

"Looks like Sleeping Beauty is finally awake." The grey-eyed girl said with an attempted joking tone but she was a bit too tense to pull it off.

"What happened? What's wrong?!"

Her attempt at a smile faded as she looked away from him and the feeling of dread that had been sitting in the pit of his stomach grew.

"Uh, Percy, what do you r-remember from... before you passed out?" She said cautiously, staring at him with such a deep sadness in her eyes.

"I don't know," he hesitated. "Do I want to remember what happened, Annabeth?"

She bit her lip and looked down at where her hands were clenched together in her lap. When she looked back up at him her grey eyes were starting to water.

"No, I don't think you do. The only thing is, you're the only one who knows what happened." She said before reaching over with a shaking hand and placing Minerva McGonagall's wand on his lap.

His breath caught in his throat as he stared at the simple yet elegant piece of wood that belonged in the hand of the woman who'd rescued him and his brother- his brother...

His vision blurred and his breaths sped up as he remembered what had happened. "Harry, something attacked us and- and Harry-" he cut himself off with a sob as he completely broke down.

Annabeth also started to cry quietly, looking down as her friend lost the control on his emotions that he so often seemed to cling to. Throughout the school year, he'd been very reserved, especially around the rest of the school, but she knew that the most important person in his life was his little brother and from what she'd gathered from his short, broken explanation, Harry Potter was gone. A small part of her brain thought of the wizarding world and how it would handle losing its supposed saviour but it was drowned out by her concern for her friend.

When he finally calmed down he looked at her with green eyes that looked even more like the ocean than usual with the unshed tears.

"You know, there were so many times that I really considered running away. It was so tempting, but the one thing that always stopped me was Harry. It's easier to protect from the monsters you know." He chuckled bitterly.

"I- I am so sorry Percy." The blonde girl whispered.

He took a deep breath in an attempt to center himself before looking up at his surroundings. They were sitting in a room that was fairly bare. Other than the bed he was currently on, there was a bedside table and a small wardrobe. A glass of apple juice and a lemon square had been placed on the table. When she saw his eyes land on it she quickly turned, wiping away her tears, and grabbed the glass, putting a straw in it so it'd be easier for him to drink.

"Here, this should help you to regain your strength." She said, holding it out to him.

Lifting his arms to take the drink, he found that his limbs were indeed too weak to hold the glass himself, his hands shaking hard until she grabbed it back so as to hold it up for him. He nearly choked on the first sip. That was not apple juice. It tasted like cookies. The same chocolate chip cookies he made with-

"What is that stuff?"

"Nectar, the drink of the gods. The square is ambrosia. What does it taste like?"

"Uh, Do you want a sip?"

"Oh, no, nectar tastes different to everyone. Besides, too much can cause a... normal person to spontaneously combust."

"You paused." Percy caught, eyes narrowing.

Annabeth sighed, leaning back in her chair, looking a bit reluctant.

"Well, I'm sure you've heard about the greek gods seeing as you grew up in the world?"

Percy felt his blood turn to ice. There was no way she could know and yet...

She continued talking, having seen him tense up and taking it as confirmation.

"Well they're real. They still exist today, they just keep hidden from the rest of the world. Sometimes they come down from Mount Olympus and date mortals. These relationships tend to result in children."

"Poseidon..." Percy muttered quietly, though not quietly enough.

Annabeth's sharp grey eyes snapped from where she had been looking at the white sheets to his face.

"What do you mean 'Poseidon'? Is he your father? How do you know?"

Now it was the brunette's turn to sigh. He wiped a hand over his face in an attempt to be subtle about the tears in his eyes.

"This summer, when Professor McGonagall came and brought Har-... Harry and I to Gringotts, I had to get an inheritance test. For the parents, three names came up. Turns out, James Potter adopted me through blood and magic when I was born."

The blonde frowned and he could practically see the gears turning in her head. Percy turned to look out the window. The sun was shining brightly over what seemed to be luscious strawberry fields, in sharp contrast to the grief that had settled in the pit of his stomach.

"Annabeth, what is this place?"

She was silent for a moment before replying softly.

"This is Camp Half-Blood."

"Like Luke's shirt?"

"Yes. This is where we live. The demigods. This is one of the only safe places in the world for people like us. Out in the mortal world, the muggle world, monsters hunt us down due to our godly blood. Just as the gods have survived all these years, so have their enemies. While the most dangerous ones remain dormant, those that have the power to take on the gods directly, the rest settle for killing their vulnerable children whenever possible."

The Ravenclaw sat in silence, waiting for a response from her friend. Having lived in the camp since she was seven, she had seen every reaction to this information.

"Did you know?" Percy asked emotionlessly.

"Yes," she whispered. "That's why we wanted you to wait on the platform for us. Luke and I had gone to get Chiron, the leader here."

The only response she got to that was a silent tear rolling down his otherwise blank face.

If he had only listened to Annabeth. She was the smart one in the group. He was so focused on getting back to his new home, on spending time with his brother... who was now dead. And all because he didn't believe anything was really wrong.

For the majority of his life, Harry was the only reason he got up in the morning. The little ball of sunshine, naivety, and optimism that never flickered. He made it his life's goal to never let the light die in his brother's eyes.

Slowly, the small boy laid back down and turned onto his side, facing away from the grey-eyed girl. As sea green eyes closed against the light flooding in through the window, all he could think of was how one mistake had ruined everything. Harry was gone.

He had failed.