So... hi.

Tagged again... fun.

On the bright side... chapter!

I was tagged by @solangelo_and_ari. Twice. Yeah, thanks for that.

1. Do I have a crush?
No
2. Middle name?
Lucas
3. Height?
5'10
4. Shoe size?
8
5. Eye color?
Blue
6. Last time you cried?
Um. Audino
Quick side note, whoever gets that is a blessing on earth
7. Biggest fear?
I have claustrophobia. Yay
8. Last song you listened to?
The NateWantsToBattle cover of Sum 41's In Too Deep
9. Last person you texted?
My mom. Because I'm awesome like that
10. Favorite app?
Safari

1. Amount of OCs?
The two other champions in this book plus pretty much my entire Ascendance of Darkness cast for the moment. Does it count if I know I'm going to but haven't used them yet? No? Does it count if I killed them off after three chapters? Yes?
...I'm gonna say 8
2. Best Friend(s)
None on Wattpad, but three in real life
3. Favorite OC?
Okay, no fair, I haven't written her yet.
4. First story you read on Wattpad?
I think it was this Son of Hypnos OC Percy Jackson story.
5. Eye color?
Blue
6. Natural hair color?
Brown
7. Spoiler for one of your books?
Snape is still alive and teaching the HP/PJO legacies and he likes the Little Mermaid.
I've said too much
8. Favorite Greek God/Goddess?
Hermes/Poseidon
9. Favorite Mythology?
Greek
10. Anything else?
Nah
11. Tag everyone you can think of.
... can't think... whoops
Okay no one gets tagged.

Storytime because my life is boring.

June was a relaxing month.

There was less class work, now that school was about to end, Percy hadn't faced an attack since Steven, and besides mourning the deaths of those who were lost in the Battle of Olympus, everything was right with the world.

And then it wasn't.

Dumbledore remembered that they never finished the Triwizard Tournament.

Wonderful.

Well, not for Percy or Sophia.

But for everyone else, wonderful.

"What?" Sophia protested, "But it's not even a Triwizard Tournament, anymore!"

"Yeah," Percy added. "There's only two of us. It's more like a Biwizard Tournament. No, that's not right. A pair-wizard? No that's worse. Two-Wizard Tournament."

Percy snapped his fingers. "I got it! A Twiwizard Tournament."

Sophia shook her head at him, continuing to the Headmasters. "Don't you guys even care?"

"Don't you?" Viktor asked her, "Glory for Beauxbatons and yourself? Only one other person standing in your way instead of two."

"One person because the other is dead," Percy reminded him, "And he was your student, too! Have a heart."

"I do have a heart," Viktor huffed, "And I'm sure this is what Raydon would have wanted."

"For his two friends to duke it out for a bag of coins and end up like him?" Sophia said dryly, "No thanks."

"Did I not just say we would be doing what Raydon would have wanted?" Viktor turned to Dumbledore questioningly, "I said that, right?"

The wizard just nodded.

"You know what?" Percy grumbled, "Fine. Fine! Is that what you wanted? We'll do your third task."

"Percy!" Sophia muttered under her breath, "The objective is to do as little work as possible. What the Hades do you think you're doing?"

"It's just one task," Percy whispered back. "For Raydon."

"Alright then," Sophia nodded, instantly softening, "For Raydon. What's the task?"

"Bathing in Hydra acid?" Percy suggested.

"Hatching a dragon?" Sophia added.

"Running through the Forbidden Forest without our wands?"

"Giving Hagrid's brother Grawp a bath?"

"Fighting gods?"

"No, Percy. We already did that."

"Oh. Fighting-"

"Percy. You've probably done whatever noun you're going to add to the back of that sentence."

"Right. Cookie eating contest?" He asked hopefully.

"Too easy," Sophia mused, "A baker's dozen cookies that we have to fight for."

"With monsters."

"Children," Dumbledore grinned, obviously amused, "We already have a challenge picked out."

"What Raydon would have wanted," Viktor said again, "Quidditch."

Sophia raised an eyebrow.

Viktor sighed, submitting.

"With monsters."

_______________

"I've got my team," Percy bragged to Sophia at the lunch table the next day. "Gryffindor won the Inter-House Quidditch Cup this year, and we're going to bag the Twiwizard Tournament one, too."

"Twiwizard?" The rest of his friends deadpanned, "Seriously, Percy?"

"Remember when I told you that you'd need to live under a rock to not know what the Triwizard Tournament was?" Ron asked.

Percy nodded.

"Well how could you still not know? You've been participating all year!"

"I made it up. There are only two of us. So the old name doesn't even make any sense."

"Last time there were four but we didn't call it the Quadwizard Tournament."

"It's Percy," Sophia laughed, "Why are you surprised?"

"I'm surprised," Annabeth said, "Because this Seaweed Brain actually got his etymology right."

"There were too many to choose from," Percy groaned, "Twiwizard just felt right."

"It sounds like a baby mispronouncing their r's."

"Shut up, Potter. It'll catch on."

"I'm not wrong."

"I said shut up."

Harry smirked, but said nothing.

"So who's gonna be on your team, Lander?" Percy asked, a self satisfied smirk on his face, "The challenge is tomorrow."

"You probably don't even know any of them, Buckethead." Sophia said, "But Gabrielle's gonna be one of the Chasers. I'm Keeper."

"Good luck to you, then," Percy grinned, "Because me and Annie and Ginny are Chasers and we're gonna kick your sorry behind with your own pointy shoes."

"Ginny, Annie, and I," Hermione corrected him, shaking her head. "Because if you take out the Annie and Ginny it's 'I am a Chaser.'"

"Ginny, Annabeth, and I," Annabeth growled, "Because if you don't take out the Annie, you won't be able to participate in your own challenge."

Sophia clapped her hands. "Who are you guys rooting for?"

"Um," Percy deadpanned, "They go to my school. They kind of have to root for me."

At the same time, however, Annabeth let out a bored, "Sophia."

"What?" Percy asked, placing a hand on his chest, offended, "But you're on my team!"

"Yeah," Annabeth snickered to herself, "Because I couldn't play on Sophia's."

"That hurts, Annabeth." Percy said, falling against her, "It's like you don't even know what today is."

"Um, June 10?"

"And?"

Annabeth looked around at the rest of the table. "Birthdays?"

They all shook their heads.

Annabeth ran over a quick list in her head. "My birthday's in a month, Harry's birthday's in a month. Jason's birthday is in a month. We just celebrated Frank's. Our anniversary and your birthday is in two months."

She looked down at him from where he was still dying gruesomely of heartbreak on her shoulder. "I give up, Seaweed Brain."

"Today's the day we first met!"

Annabeth did some quick mental math in her head. "Oh, yeah. Happy You Drool in Your Sleep Day, Percy."

"Thanks!"

Annabeth snapped her fingers, "Oh! And that makes tomorrow the day we went on our first quest together."

She looked at Sophia apologetically. "Sorry, Sophia, can't root for you anymore. This Seaweed Brain and I always complete our quests."

"You drool in your sleep?" Ginny asked, a confused smile on her face as Sophia pouted.

"The first thing she ever said to me," Percy said proudly.

"While you were completely conscious and could actively use your brain to store memory," Annabeth corrected him.

"No," Ginny clarified, "Do you drool in your sleep?"

Percy flushed red, subconsciously wiping his sleeve across his mouth in embarrassment.

"Take that as a yes, then," Sophia chuckled, "It's okay, Bucket Head. Could be worse. I hear Travis and Connor have extreme gas in their sleep."

"Okay," Percy ceded, "But I'm pretty sure that's intentional. And half the time just scented whoopee cushions."

"Speaking of Connor," Ron said, furrowing his eyebrows, "How does it feel knowing you went on a date with your brother before you knew he was your brother?"

"You think I didn't know?" Sophia scoffed, rolling her eyes, "We have the same hair, the same eyes, the same personality, and even the same ears."

"Um, Sophia," Percy reminded her, "You didn't find out about your godly heritage until afterward."

"You know what the first thing Connor said to me was?" Sophia asked, "'Are you my replacement Travis?' Followed by a yell to the sky, 'Thanks, Dad!'"

"So yeah," Sophia continued, "I didn't know he was my brother, but it definitely wasn't a date. He's too much like me anyway."

"I believe it's the other way around," a voice came from behind her, "You are far too much like us."

And there, in all their grinning glory, were the Stoll Brothers.

"Travis!" Annabeth started, surprised, "Connor! What are you doing here?"

"We're fighting monsters," Travis grinned.

"And swinging sticks," Connor continued.

"Coming to the aid-"

"Of our dear little sister-"

"In her time of need."

Percy cocked an eyebrow at them. "What?"

"We're eating in the Quick Ditch," they said at the same time.

Sophia slammed her head against the table, burying herself in her arms.

"They're beaters," she groaned, "They're playing in the challenge with me tomorrow."

"Is that even allowed?" Hermione asked skeptically, "They don't go to your school."

"The official instructions were, and I quote," Sophia said in her best Dumbledore impression, "'Your team may be comprised of any seven people, as long as they do not go to your opponent's school.'"

"That's such a weird wording," Hermione commented, "Even for Dumbledore."

"I think they're counting on us to choose some Durmstrang kids," Percy whispered conspiratorially, "And I'm pretty sure Krum wants to play, too."

"Yeah, well I'm not choosing Krum," Sophia smirked, "That'd be unfair to you."

"You can choose Krum and we'll still win," Percy taunted, an excited gleam in his eye, "We've got Harry."

"We'll see about that, Jackson," Sophia shot back, poking him for good measure, "I'm in the lead right now."

Percy rolled his eyes, "Yeah, by one point."

"One point is all I need."

"Better bring your A game, tomorrow, Lander. I'm not holding back."

"Well neither am I."

"Good."

"Good!"

"Come on, guys," Annabeth grumbled, running a frustrated hand through her hair, "Can't we be mature about this?"

Ginny laughed. "Mature? Annabeth, it's like you don't even know them."

Percy eyed Sophia confidently, smirking. "Settle this on the pitch?"

"You know it."

_______________

When Viktor Krum said monsters, he really meant monsters.

A whole horde of them.

It was as if someone had gone into the forest and screamed Percy Jackson is unarmed and vulnerable and right over here waiting to be eaten for all the world to hear.

Judging by the twinkle he could see in Dumbledore from all the way on the other side of the field, Percy wouldn't be surprised if that had actually happened.

He and Sophia shook hands as Apollo took over the announcing duties once again.

"The last round of the Triwizard Tournament-"

"Twiwizard," Percy coughed.

"The last round of the Triwizard Tournament has come to pass!" Apollo boomed, completely ignoring Percy, "And boy do we have a lineup for you today. In first place, Sophia-Grace Lander of Beauxbatons, leading over Percy Jackson of Hogwarts by one point."

"This match, dedicated to Raydon Jesome of Durmstrang, will function as a regular Quidditch match, ending if and only if someone catches the Golden Baseball with Wings!"

Chiron trotted up to him and whispered in his ear.

Apollo's expression morphed into one of confusion, but as quickly as it had faded, his blinding smile returned with a vengeance.

"The Golden Snitch!" Apollo grinned, winking into the crowd as if it had been intentional.

"Each team will consist of seven players, each on brooms. Because of the monsters, each team is allowed two blades and two wands. Sophia's team will be allowed one extra weapon of her choosing."

"Sweet!" Sophia cheered, "Wand."

"Weapons may not be used on any Quidditch equipment, including but not limited to, brooms and people."

"We're considered equipment?" Percy muttered to Annabeth.

"It's logic."

"Doesn't make sense."

"It's Apollo logic."

"Let the battle begin!"

Chiron tugged at him to whisper again, slightly more exasperated this time.

"Oh," Apollo sighed, still beaming, "Madam Hooch, will you please start the match?"

Half a minute later, the players were armed and in the air, already fighting for possession of the Quaffle.

Harry clutched onto his wand like his life depended on it. Well, it did, but mostly he was just keeping his grip. He needed to find the Snitch fast, before the first wave of monsters were released five minutes in.

Harry looked around, but saw nothing. The opposing team's seeker, a girl from Durmstrang, was unarmed and flying, searching for the Snitch to no avail.

Percy and the Chasers were having a much better time.

Percy had Riptide in pen form and between his teeth to provide easy access and free his hands to score the first point on Sophia.

"You make this too easy, Lander," Percy yelled above the wind, his voice slurred from the pen in his mouth.

"Let just make it harder, then!" Came Apollo's voice from the ground, "Release the Kraken!"

Everyone, in the air and in the stands, jerked in surprise. Chiron, completely done with the sun god at this point, smacked him upside the head instead of whispering.

"Not an actual Kraken," he amended, "Just release the monsters, alright? You guys are ruining my dramatic flair."

The first monster took him completely by surprise, barreling into his side with twice the force of a rampant Bludger. He was thrown from his broom, only to be caught by Ginny, who was giving his blushing face an exasperated look.

"Falling for me, Harry?" Ginny quipped, "It's about time, isn't?"

Harry's blush darkened tenfold and he stared as she barely waited around long enough to put him back on his broom and flash him a smile. He didn't know how long he'd been floating there before a slap upside the back of his head brought him back to his senses.

"Head in the game, Potter," Percy yelled as he flew by, "I don't care how pretty you think Ginny Weasley is!"

Harry shook himself to clear his head before pushing up his glasses and taking a look around the field.

Everything was going smoothly for Hogwarts. They were well in the lead by seventy points and the monsters were just a collection of harpies that burst into an almost celebratory dust when Bludgers, weapons and spells slammed through them.

Sophia was working her butt off, having blocked more than two dozen shots, but her Chasers were... let's just say none of them were going professional anytime soon.

Annabeth was just about to try and score again when her face paled and her joints locked up, her eyes staring into the distance. At first it seemed that someone had cast a spell at her, but then he saw what she was staring at.

Acromantulas. A whole horde of them.

With wings.

Somewhere behind the cloud of black, though, he saw the barest glint of gold.

But first, he had to get through to Annabeth.

"Annabeth," he said, shaking her, "You've got a game to win."

"Sp-Spiders," she whimpered. Whimpered. Annabeth Chase just whimpered because of a bunch of winged arthropods.

"Look at- Annabeth, look at me." Harry grabbed Annabeth's face, tearing her gaze away from the monsters, even if her fear didn't cease. He waved back at Percy, who was trying to make his way over through the crowd of monsters, leaving Ginny alone with the Quaffle.

Percy's face became relieved, but he threw a fireball their way for good measure, sending a good chunk of the spiders that surrounded hissing toward the ground.

"Annabeth, it's going to be alright," he told her, "Right now, there are people who need you. You've gotten past spiders before, and you're still here."

The daughter of Athena refused to move, clinging to her broom, her breathing shaky and her eyes panicked.

"Ron's over there on the other side of the pitch," Harry reminded her, "And his biggest fear is spiders, too."

A sudden thought struck him.

"Biggest fear," he murmured, "Wait! Acromantulas can't fly."

He drew his wand, preparing to cast a spell when he heard Annabeth's whisper.

"Wait, Harry, those aren't-"

"Riddikulus!" He yelled, both to the Boggarts and Annabeth's claim that they weren't, in fact, Boggarts.

But there was a reason Percy never bet against Annabeth.

The spell did nothing.

Before I even had the chance to gape, Percy was back, quickly shredding his way through the actual flying acromantulas.

"I did promise that if spiders actually could fly, I'd kill them for you, didn't I, Wise Girl?" Percy winked, "Now get back in the game. We're down twenty points and we need you."

At ease but knowing he would be talking to Annabeth about this later, he took off after the glint of gold, thinking it was the Snitch.

Wrong again.

When the spiders cleared, what Harry had been heading for this entire time was a gleaming red dragon.

Chinese Fireball.

It's shining gold spikes must have been what Harry saw, the red hidden amongst the red eyes of the thousands of Acromantulas.

Turns out, charging headfirst into the face of a dragon, especially one as aggressive as the Fireball, was a very bad idea.

A very bad idea.

Like the kind of bad idea you would find with Percy.

That bad.

Harry was sent spiraling to the ground, this time with no gorgeous redhead to save him. He hit the grass with a resounding crack! his right arm already bleeding from the dragon's spikes now snapped.

He blacked out from pain.

_______________

Percy didn't know anything was wrong until he chucked the ball to Ginny and she didn't catch it. In fact, she dove away from the ball as if it were a Bludger.

She landed on the ground next to a fallen figure.

Harry.

Percy called a timeout, swooping down to check on him as well. Out cold, bleeding, and his arm sticking out unnaturally, Harry was not in a good condition to play Quidditch. Or be on a broom. Or even stand.

He was whisked away to the Hospital Wing, leaving Percy with Madam Hooch and the rest of his team.

"How long do my timeouts last?" He asked her. "I want to go check up on Harry. Tell him someone else's gonna have to play in his spot."

"Subs are illegal," Madam Hooch said matter of factly, "And if he can't play, you will have to forfeit the match."

"That's ridiculous!" Percy yelled in outrage, "There's a boy with his arm in two pieces-"

"Four, actually," Annabeth cut in, leaning over his shoulder, "He snapped his forearm. Radius and ulna both completely fractured."

"Thank you, Annabeth," Percy grit out, "There's a boy who was just sent away, bloody and beaten and with his arm snapped in four pieces and we're just going to have to play? That's crazy. You're crazy!"

"I'm sorry, Perseus," she told him, not sorry looking at all, "But those are the rules. I can, however, allow you a position switch, since he is the Seeker, and a fifteen minute timeout to visit him."

Percy stormed off, Ginny, Ron, and Annabeth hot on his tail, running to the Hospital Wing.

"So," David awkwardly whispered to Kenny, "Wanna whack some stuff while they're gone?"

<*~*~*~*~*>

Ginny was the first at his bedside, not five minutes later, his arm magically healed and the boy himself fully conscious.

"I think we're going to have to change your name," Ginny said, scolding and hugging him at the same time, "From Boy who Lived to Boy who Keeps Almost Dying."

"You can't do that," Annabeth told her, amused, "That's Percy's name."

Suddenly she became serious, staring at them. "Actually, guys," she started nervously, "If it's okay with you, I'd like to talk to Harry. Alone."

Percy bit his lip, obviously wanting to talk to him first, but agreed, kissing her cheek before dragging Ron and Ginny out with him. She stared after him for a second before Harry's cough brought her back to reality.

"Sorry," Annabeth smiled.

"This is about the spider thing, isn't it?" Harry said, cutting to the chase, "How did you know those weren't Boggarts? Seemed perfectly reasonable to me." 

"Because," she shrugged simply, "As much as I hate them, they aren't my greatest fear. And so many Boggarts in one place in broad daylight? Doubtful." 

Annabeth didn't normally talk about things like that. That much, Harry knew. Annabeth liked logic and strength and dependability. Fears got in the way of that. Still, he tilted his head for her to go on.

"Look," Annabeth continued, surprising him, "Two years ago, sure. I know without a doubt in my mind that a Boggart would have turned into a flying giant spider and try to straight up kill me. I know that. Spiders are hairy and disgusting and terrifying and - uh!"

She shuddered, stopping herself. "I'm rambling. Anyways, they're all demon spawn. Simple."

"So what's the matter, then, Annabeth?" Harry asked her, "Why do they still freak you out so much? What's Annabeth Chase's biggest fear?"

"The thing you should know about me," Annabeth said as if she hadn't even heard him, "Is that I didn't come from a great home life. I'd wake up bleeding and crying and screaming bloody murder. My dad didn't care. My step monster told me off for 'scaring her kids' as if they had anything to be truly afraid of.  I ran away when I was seven."

Harry knew most of that already. He didn't understand where any of it was coming from. Still, he kept his mouth shut and listened.

"I've never had anyone I could depend on for anything. My father wasn't a father. I thought my best friend Thalia was dead for almost seven years. Luke turned into the Titan Lord. My mother was a goddess, so she was never around. And then I met Percy."

She gave him a funny look. "Do you know what it's like, to have this kid you're supposed to hate strut into your life and change it forever? Percy's the kind of guy who will show up one day with his giant smile and bright green eyes and be such a charismatic goof about everything you might want to slap the silly out of him a couple times."

"But before you know it," she whispered softly, "You can't remember what your life was like before him, except perhaps a vague notion of not as great and you can't imagine your life without him. He's been the only dependable person in my life since I was twelve years old, Harry. He was the one person in the entire world who I'd feel confident barging into his cabin unannounced and completely breaking down. He's the one person I'd trust to never leave. Ever." 

"You know, he was dead for two weeks once," she snickered humorlessly, "I never believed that he'd leave, though. Not for a second. Inside a volcano as it erupted so hard it set some records, that Seaweed Brain. I never believed that Percy would ever stop being a constant in my life until a little over a year and a half ago when he went missing. Eight months."

Harry felt the urge to put his hand over hers, or sit up and hug her, or do anything he could (Platonically, of course) to stop one of the strongest people he knew from falling apart on the foot of his bed. He'd never seen someone come so close to crying without letting the tears fall. Of that, he was certain. 

"That was the first time I'd even entertained the idea of Percy being gone from my life, even for a moment. We've fought monsters, gods, Titans, each other. But for the first time, Percy was undependable for me. Not by choice, of course. Since that day, though, any Boggart I'd ever face would turn into Percy, dying or some other twisted way of him leaving me. And that's the truth of it." 

"It's okay, Annabeth," Harry said, finally speaking up, "I get it, I do. You don't need to prove yourself to me. I know how strong you are own, don't think for a second that I don't. Percy makes us all better. That's just something he does. Perks of being friends with Percy."

Annabeth furiously scrubbed at her eyes, composing herself before flashing him a grin. "You're not so bad, Potter. See you on the Pitch?" 

Harry paled. "Wait, seriously? I don't think Madam Pomfrey will like that."

Annabeth shrugged. "I don't think she has a choice. Madam Hooch was pretty adamant about the 'no subs' rule."

Percy appeared in the doorway, frowning. Annabeth waved at him as casually as she could with her flushed face, not trusting her voice to not crack.

"Two minutes," Percy gasped to her, taking in her appearance but saying nothing, "Get out there with the team, Wise Girl. I need to work something out with Harry and Madam Pomfrey. Two minutes is not enough! I'm not gonna lose to that Pointy Shoed Hermes Kid by default."

He hugged her tight before pushing her out the door, turning to Harry frantically.

"Yes?" The wizard asked nonchalantly, "Did you want something?"

"Harry, we're done," Percy told him as if it was just a fact of the universe, like the sky is blue or blueberries are blue or cookies are blue. 

"Oh, man," Harry said sarcastically, "And here I was enjoying this relationship with you, the love of my life." 

"No!" Percy groaned, "We can't win. We're down twenty points and you're in no position to Seek. I'm just going to tell Madam Hooch we're out."

"Wait," Harry stopped him, holding up a finger, "There's a rule about spot switching." 

"I know," Percy grimaced, "And Madam Hooch said we could do that, but you're our Seeker."

"Percy, come on," Harry said, slugging him in the arm. "I know you blew tryouts that day so I could have a spot. I know you're plenty happy playing Chaser with Annabeth and Ginny, but seriously. It's okay. You're just better. I've been working at it, sure, but your broom is better and so are your reflexes, and I'm not even gonna start on your broom technique."

Percy opened his mouth to protest, but Harry cut him off again. "Stop trying to be noble, Percy. You're better. This is the spot you should've had all along. And after we beat Sophia today, we can go back to pretending I'm still the best Seeker in the school and you can chum around with your girlfriend during the games. Promise." 

"You're really okay with this?" Percy winced.

Harry nodded.

The Son of Poseidon's grin returned. "Alright, then! Take your wand and stay on the sidelines so you don't get hurt again. Shoot some monsters while you're at it. Let's get out of here before Madam Pomfrey comes back."

The last thing they heard was a woman's shriek of protest before they got back to the Pitch, laughing.

_______________

They ended up tying with Beauxbatons.

(Percy forgot that the Snitch was only one hundred fifty points)

So they had a tie breaker. Cookie eating contest.

Percy won that one. 

Depending on your definition of winning, of course.

If you're talking about who ate the most cookies, then yeah. Percy won.

If you're talking about who made it out without going into sugar shock and/or a food coma, though...

Sophia definitely won.