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The little Veela, Gabrielle, began to cry out, looking around in confusion and fear, her eyes wide. "Fleur? Fleur, where are you? And who are you?" she wailed, looking at Percy with terrified eyes. "You're not Fleur!"
Percy smiled a gentle, reassuring smile, trying not to scare the little girl any more than she already was. "Non," he said, speaking in the little bit of broken French he knew, thanks to spending so much time listening to Fleur talk with her friends.
"Moi… take to sister." (No, me take to sister.) It probably wasn't perfect grammar, but he hoped she'd get the meaning.
The little girl looked confused for a moment, her crying quieting down a little. But then, suddenly, Fleur herself came charging towards the edge of the pier, her face a mask of frantic relief.
"Gabrielle! Oh, mon trésor! I'm here! I'm here!" she cried out, her voice full of love and worry. She leaned far over the edge of the pier, her arms reaching out desperately for her little sister.
Percy gently pushed the small girl up and into her big sister's waiting arms. Fleur hugged Gabrielle tightly, pulling her onto the pier and out of the cold water, before Percy helped a shivering Harry and a still-dazed Susan up onto the wooden platform as well.
Percy sighed, a long, tired breath, as he finally pulled himself back onto dry land. He smiled, a genuine, warm smile, as he saw Fleur holding her little sister tightly, wrapping her in her own discarded cloak and whispering sweet, comforting words into her ear in rapid, loving French.
"Oh, Harry," Susan Bones said, her voice full of breathless emotion. Then, before Harry could even react, she jumped right into his arms, surprising the young, spectacled boy completely.
She kissed him right on the lips, a long, passionate kiss that made the small crowd of Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors who had gathered around them on the pier wolf-whistle and cheer in encouragement.
Harry finally broke the kiss, his entire face blushing a brilliant, fiery red, as Susan hugged him tightly. "I knew you would come for me, Harry," she whispered, her voice shaky with relief. "I knew you wouldn't leave me down there."
Percy grinned, watching his friend get some well-deserved affection. "Oh, isn't that just sweet," he teased loudly.
"Shut it, Percy," Harry glared at him, though he was still smiling, his arm wrapped securely around Susan's waist.
Fleur, having covered a now much calmer Gabrielle with a warm, dry blanket, gave her little sister to Camille to hold. She then turned to Percy, her blue eyes shining with unshed tears of gratitude. "Perzy," she said, her voice soft.
"I'm really glad she's okay-" Percy's voice was suddenly cut off with a soft "ompf!" as Fleur launched herself at him, jumping into his arms and kissing him with all the pent-up emotion of the last hour. Percy smiled into the kiss, holding her close, his arms wrapping around her waist, steadying them both.
She sighed into his mouth, a sound of pure relief, before pulling back just enough to look into his eyes. "T'ank you, Perzy," she whispered, her forehead resting against his. "T'ank you for zaving her."
Percy chuckled softly, gently wiping a stray tear from her cheek with his thumb. "You really don't have to thank me, Fleur. She's your sister. Of course I was going to get her."
"Hey! I think they are going to announce the scores!" Juan called out from the edge of the crowd, getting everyone's attention.
Fleur moved to stand next to Gabrielle, who was now staring at Percy with wide, curious eyes, and just a little bit of leftover hostility, probably for not being her sister.
Percy smiled and gave the little girl a friendly wave. "Hello. I'm Percy," he said gently. This just caused the little girl to shrink back shyly behind her bigger sister's legs.
"Gabby, you're being rude to t'e man who zaved you," Fleur hissed down at her sister quietly.
"But who is he?" Gabby whispered back, loud enough for Percy to hear. "Is he your boyfriend, Fleur?"
Fleur blushed a little but nodded with a proud, happy smile. "Yes, Gabby. Yes, he is."
"Oh," Gabby blinked at Percy, her expression unreadable. Then she turned back to Fleur. "Does that mean you're going to marry him now?"
"What?!" Percy cried out, his own eyes filled with comical, wide-eyed horror. Camille and the other French students nearby who heard the little girl's innocent question burst out laughing, while a few of the Hogwarts students who weren't using the translation charm just looked confused as to what was so funny.
"Yes, of course he is," Juan spoke up, a huge, teasing grin on his face as he smiled at the little girl. "He's going to be your big brother Percy soon!"
"Juan, don't make me throw you back where I found you," Percy growled, though there was no real heat behind it. Juan just laughed even harder.
"Attention! Attention, please!" came Dumbledore's booming voice, magically amplified to carry across the entire lake. It drew everyone's attention to him.
Percy knew it had to be a Sonorus charm; no one, not even a giant, had that loud a voice naturally. "The judges have conferred, and we will now announce the scores for each of our four champions for the Second Task!"
"For Mr. Viktor Krum," Dumbledore began, "for excellent use of transfiguration and for completing the task in a very respectable forty minutes, we award him… forty points!" People in the stands cheered loudly, especially the Durmstrang contingent.
Krum managed a small smile, looking over at Hermione, who was completely ignoring him. Instead, she was fussing over Harry, making sure he was warm and unharmed, much to Susan's, and especially Krum's, visible irritation.
"For Ms. Fleur Delacour," Dumbledore continued, his voice kind, "for a valiant effort in the face of a fierce Grindylow attack, we award her… twenty-five points!"
"I dezerve not'ing," Fleur spat out quietly beside Percy, looking disappointed in herself. "I failed."
"Hey, don't say that," Percy whispered, putting his arm around her shoulders and pulling her into a comforting side hug. He planted a soft kiss on her head.
"If this was a charms creation task, or a beauty contest, you would be in first place, no question." Fleur huffed a little but didn't argue, leaning into his warmth.
"I have been informed by the Merchieftainess," Dumbledore announced, a twinkle in his eye, "that Mr. Harry Potter had arrived at the merpeople village in thirty-five minutes, but then insisted on staying behind to ensure that all the other hostages were rescued first." Dumbledore paused, letting the crowd cheer loudly at this announcement of Harry's noble actions.
"For this outstanding show of sheer moral fiber and bravery, we award him… thirty-nine points!"
People cheered loudly for Harry, who looked both embarrassed and pleased. Hermione and Ron were now by his side, congratulating him enthusiastically, while Krum did his best to try and gain Hermione's attention, looking quite gloomy. Percy honestly felt a little bad for the guy. Being a famous Quidditch star clearly didn't help with everything.
"And finally," Dumbledore boomed, saving Percy for last, "for Mr. Percy Jackson, for completing the task in the astoundingly short time of just ten minutes, and for displaying an unparalleled mastery over water and a clear sense of proper preparation for the task ahead, we award him with… forty-seven points!"
This time, the cheering was almost deafening. The Hufflepuffs went absolutely wild. Percy chuckled as his friends came rushing up to congratulate him, clapping him on the back and telling him how amazing he was.
He smiled and thanked them all, laughing and just enjoying the happy, celebratory moment. And just like that, because things could never stay simple and happy for him for long, something happened to stop it.
"Percy! Percy, over here!" Rita Skeeter's shrill voice cut through the happy noise. She pushed Cedric and Cho roughly to the side and stepped forward with a predatory smile, holding up her acid-green Quick-Quotes Quill, poised and ready.
Fleur felt Percy tense up beside her, his body going rigid. She saw his happy smile drop instantly, replaced by a hard, cold glare on his face. "Please be careful, Perzy," she begged him in a whisper, her hand gripping his arm tightly.
"I will," Percy replied, his voice low and tight.
"Percy! How does it feel to just completely blow your competition out of the water, literally?" Rita asked with her fake, sugary smile. "Did you expect this task to present any sort of challenge at all for you? Or was this just another day at the office for the amazing 'Knight of Hogwarts'?"
Percy just glared at the woman, his jaw tight. "No comment," he bit out.
"Oh, come now, don't be like that," Rita's smile turned to Fleur. "I see you and the lovely French champion are still together! That's so good to hear. Most young celebrity couples don't really make it past the first-month mark, you know."
"And whose fault do you think that usually is?" Percy snapped, his patience finally breaking.
Rita looked offended, placing a hand over her heart in mock horror. "You aren't accusing me, are you, Percy? I assure you, I wish nothing but the absolute best for you both. But my readers, they demand to know the details! As such, I am nothing but a humble supplier of information."
Percy could feel the water in the lake behind him begin to move, to stir restlessly. It felt his rage, his deep need to destroy the vile creature standing before him, and he had no doubt that if he wasn't actively trying, with all his might, to make sure it didn't happen, the lake water would rise up, swallow her whole, and never bring her back up again.
Percy wetted his suddenly dry lips, making a decision. "You know what, Rita," he said, his voice suddenly calm, almost pleasant. "I do have something to say to you, actually."
Rita's eyes sparkled with greedy delight. "Really? Oh, wonderful! And what's that?" she asked eagerly, her acid-green quill and notepad held at the ready, her knuckles white with anticipation.
Percy cleared his throat, looked her straight in the eye, and began to speak in a strange, ancient-sounding language, his voice resonating with a power that had nothing to do with a Sonorus charm.
[I, the son of Poseidon, do hereby curse you. Take my pain, take my hate, take my sorrow, and learn them well. Let the feathered servants of Zeus have your flesh. Let your every movement bring offense to them. Let them see you as lower than dirt, so be attacked by all forms of bird. Suffer when light meets the dark, and when dark meets the light. There shall be no end to my curse upon you, unless I say it so. Forever binded by this word are you.]
The students all blinked in confusion, hearing only strange, guttural sounds.
Even Fleur, who had heard him speak Ancient Greek before, didn't really understand the formal, archaic words or their terrible, binding power.
But she felt the air grow cold around them, and she saw the flicker of triumph in Percy's sea-green eyes.
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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