If you want to read ahead by 20+ chapters you could take a visit on my patreon Or check it out.
http://patreon.com/SageOf016
--------
Percy groaned, running both hands through his already messy hair. "This," he said, looking around his amazing, magic-filled secret room, "is going to be such a massive pain in the ass.
Hecate smiled, a knowing, slightly mischievous look in her ancient eyes. "It's not something that can be sealed away again, Percy, like locking a monster in a jar. It's... it's a fundamental part of you now. A part of who you are as a son of Poseidon learning to wield magic. Ignorance, not knowing what you could do, was your only real defense against its full potential before. But now that you know... well, now I suggest you learn to deal with it. Learn to control it. Very, very carefully."
Percy groaned loudly, running both hands through his already messy black hair in frustration. "This," he said, looking around his amazing, magic-filled secret room, now feeling a little less like a fun hideout and more like a dangerous laboratory, "is going to be such a massive, gigantic pain in the ass."
Hecate chuckled, a sound like wind chimes. "Well, think of it this way, nephew. At least now you know you don't actually suck at Charms class. In fact, with this new understanding, you could probably be a true master of the subject if you so wished. You could make those feathers dance minuets, not just float."
Percy raised an eyebrow, still skeptical. "Oh yeah? And why would I want to do that? So that instead of just animating a dancing pineapple for fun, I'll accidentally make it a walking, talking, fully sentient, and probably very opinionated, living fruit? No thanks."
Hecate smiled, her eyes twinkling. "Which is exactly why you'll have to learn control, Percy. Precision. Restraint. It won't be easy for you, I know."
Percy grumbled, folding his arms across his chest. "I don't know if you've noticed, lady, but I ain't exactly known for my amazing 'control' and 'restraint'. I tend to... go big."
"Which is precisely why you need to learn it now, more than ever," Hecate stated calmly, her smile unwavering.
"I hate this," Percy muttered, slumping a little.
Hecate's smile softened. "I know you do, dear boy." She then snapped her fingers with a flourish, and in an instant, a small, elegant wooden table and two comfortable-looking chairs appeared out of thin air in the middle of the room. She gracefully sat down in one of them and gestured to the other. "Now then, since I'm already here, breaking all sorts of Hogwarts rules, why don't you tell me personally how you have really been? All the important details."
Percy couldn't help but smile back. He sat down in the offered chair. "Oh yeah, speaking of you being here, I've been wondering about that. How did you just appear here like that, right when I needed you? Hogwarts' wards are supposed to be impossible to teleport into, even for powerful wizards."
Hecate chuckled, a rich, knowing sound. "Oh, Percy. After all this time, all these years, you still don't quite get it, do you?" She leaned forward, her silver eyes sparkling.
"I am the Goddess of Magic itself. Magic, in all its forms, obeys me, my dear. Not the other way around. Those wards are just... polite suggestions, to me." She waved a dismissive hand.
"Now, enough about boring old me. Tell me, is it true what they say about an angry, fully transformed Veela's tongue? Is it really forked, like a bird's? Or perhaps a snake's? Inquiring goddesses want to know."
Percy blushed a bright red, sputtering a little. 'She'll never, ever change,' he thought, a mix of embarrassment and fondness washing over him.
And if he was being completely honest with himself, he was incredibly happy that was the case. Hecate, in all her teasing, powerful, and slightly terrifying glory, was family.
The rest of the month of January went by pretty quickly for Percy after that. The weekends he usually spent with Fleur.
They'd either be outside enjoying the crisp winter air on the school grounds, maybe having a snowball fight or just walking by the lake, or they'd sneak up to his secret study, 'The Forest'.
There, Fleur would work diligently on trying to figure out the clue for the second task, while Percy, who already had a plan in mind for it, mostly spent the time on his own personal projects tinkering with enchantments, practicing his newfound control over intent-based magic (very carefully), or drawing up new invention ideas.
The classes during the week were… well, they were classes. Plain and a little boring sometimes, but nothing Percy couldn't handle.
He did, however, begin to slowly but surely improve in both his Charms and Transfiguration work, much to the surprise (and quiet pleasure) of his professors.
Professor Flitwick was especially happy that Percy seemed to have taken his advice to heart, though the demigod wisely never mentioned that the kind half-goblin professor was now currently on Hecate's personal 'people who annoy me' list for daring to 'correct' her teaching methods.
The first Hogsmeade weekend of the new term arrived, and Percy and Fleur decided to skip the crowded village and spend the afternoon making out (and maybe doing a little more) in the cozy privacy of 'The Forest'.
They later came to regret that decision just a tiny bit when they heard what happened in Hogsmeade. Harry and his friends, Ron and Hermione, had another unfortunate run-in with Rita Skeeter in the Three Broomsticks pub.
Percy really, really wanted to find that horrible woman and give her a piece of his mind (and maybe activate that bird curse). Sadly, that would have to wait. Maybe next time she showed her face.
There was some good news that week, however. Hagrid, the kind half-giant groundskeeper Percy had met briefly, apparently got back to work teaching his Care of Magical Creatures classes.
The nasty article Skeeter had written about him and Madam Maxime still loomed over his head like a dark cloud, and some students were still whispering, but the big man seemed to be handling himself with a quiet dignity, supported by Dumbledore and his close friends.
Hogwarts' life was actually slowing down a bit now for Percy, settling into a comfortable rhythm. It was all surprisingly… normal, and kind of boring in a good way.
He went to classes, he made out with a super hot, amazing French girl (which was definitely a lot of fun), and then he had his own secret projects to work on.
Things really were almost… normal. And Percy, to his own surprise, didn't really think he minded that peacefulness at all. It was a nice change.
Soon, chilly January turned into even chillier February, and Percy began to wonder what he should do for Valentine's Day. He'd never really done anything for Valentine's Day before never had a reason to, or a girlfriend to share it with.
But this was the first year he would actually have something, someone, to look forward to celebrating it with. Fleur.
So, plan he did. He'd learned a lot about Fleur over the past month, spending so much time with her. Little things, important things, things he honestly loved about her.
He learned that her absolute favorite book was Pride and Prejudice.
He learned that her mother sometimes called her 'mon petit moineau', which meant 'my little sparrow', a nickname she secretly hated but also found endearing.
And he learned that she absolutely, unequivocally loved chocolate, especially dark, rich chocolate. So, obviously, Percy had his work cut out for him to make this Valentine's Day special.
——
Valentine's Day:
Fleur smiled, a soft, contented sound, as she leaned back comfortably against Percy's chest. They sat together underneath their favorite old oak tree by the lakeside, the same one where they'd shared so many important moments.
The leaves above them, even though it was winter, were magically glowing with a warm, bright golden light, making it seem like the sun was still hanging lazily in the late afternoon sky, even though it was actually getting dark.
"It's amazing, Perzy," Fleur whispered, her voice full of awe as she looked around at the softly glowing leaves and the peaceful, snowy landscape. "Zo beautiful."
"Thanks, I try," Percy smiled, feeling warm and happy. He used his long fondue fork to spear a slice of crisp apple and then dipped it slowly into a small, bubbling pot of dark chocolate fondue he had magically kept warm. He offered it to her.
"I ztill can't believe you got all t'iz made just for uz," Fleur said excitedly, taking the chocolate-covered apple and biting into it with a happy sigh. She then dipped a piece of rich, fudgy brownie into the melted chocolate, a look of pure, sweet relish on her face as she ate it. "'Ow did you even know I love chocolate fondu zo much?!"
"I asked Camille," Percy grinned, pleased with himself. "She was very helpful. And it was pretty easy to make, really. I just had to bribe Fred and George Weasley to go and get some nice chocolate for me from Hogsmeade during their last trip. And then," he made a face, "I had to owl order some really good chocolate from France after I tasted the cheap, waxy crap they brought me back the first time."
"Well, I am very glad you know t'e difference between good chocolate and bad," Fleur said, smiling approvingly as she sipped from a delicate glass of deep red wine.
"Eet iz zomet'ing very important I look for in a man, you know. Good tazte." She winked at him. "And t'e wine? Where did t'iz come from? Eet iz divine."
"Well, that," Percy chuckled, "that required me bribing my slightly terrifying, all-powerful aunt, Hecate."
"Ooh, t'at muzt 'ave been 'ard," Fleur whispered, her eyes wide with mock sympathy. "Bribing a goddezz."
"You have absolutely no idea," Percy rolled his eyes, though he was smiling.
He'd had to trade his amazing, flying invisibility cloak to Hecate for a whole week just to get this one bottle of special wine.
But then again, wine stolen straight from the personal cellar of Dionysus, the Wine God himself, was probably worth it. It tasted incredible.
"Eet'z really, really good," Fleur said again, her cheeks quickly flushing a lovely rosy red after just a few sips. She looked a little dizzy in a very cute way. "W'at wine vintage iz t'iz, Perzy? I do not recognize it."
"I honestly don't know," Percy admitted, pointing at the elegant, unlabeled dark green bottle. "My aunt got it from a… friend of hers, who doesn't really like selling his best works. He's kind of… selfish like that, keeps all the good stuff for himself."
"Well, t'at'z too bad for t'e world, becauze your aunt'z friend iz a true mazter at t'e craft," Fleur nodded seriously as she took another small, appreciative sip from her glass. "It tazte zo warm, zo… alive."
"Well, I'm really glad you enjoyed it all," Percy smiled, holding her a little closer, feeling her warmth against him.
He leaned down and planted a soft kiss on the top of her silvery-blonde head, breathing in the faint scent of her vanilla and flower perfume.
He looked down and noticed a tiny, iridescent blue beetle bug crawling near Fleur's ear. Percy carefully picked it up between his thumb and forefinger and gently flicked it away into the snow.
Weird. Where did these little things keep coming from anyway? He seemed to be seeing them everywhere lately.
"T'iz 'az been t'e bezt Valentine'z Day I 'ave ever 'ad in my entire life, Perzy. T'ank you zo much," Fleur whispered, looking up at him, her blue eyes soft and shining in the magical golden light.
She leaned up and kissed him deeply on the lips. The demigod hummed into her mouth, tasting the rich chocolate and the sweet, potent wine on her breath.
She tasted so, so good.
"Have you… have you celebrated this before?" Percy asked quietly when they finally broke the kiss, his voice a little husky.
"I mean, Valentine's Day. With a boyfriend, or something?" He suddenly felt a little insecure, wondering about her past.
--------
If you want to read ahead by 20+ chapters you could take a visit on my patreon Or check it out.
http://patreon.com/SageOf016