Percy

The first thing that came back to me was sound. Then smell. Probably vision somewhere in there, but I kept my eyes closed. I could taste the grossness of my mouth from being closed for so long. Then touch, but only from my neck up.

The cool air blowing on my face was all I could feel. Why couldn't I feel anything else? I opened my eyes, blinking away the crustiness. I was alone with the exception of Vaisey unconscious on the bed next to me. In the corner I spotted the medical lounge with dim lights. It was night now.

I groaned in pain as I felt that above my neck. I tried to sit up, but my body wouldn't respond. I kept trying, not even a twitch. My breath caught in my throat. I couldn't move. Oh gods, I was paralyzed from the neck down. When I fell, something in my spinal cord must've been severed.

"Apollo?" I whispered, my throat scratchy,"Apollo? Are you there?"

He's a god so he should be able to sense my words. Not to mention the fact that I was in the infirmary. I needed my cousin to tell me what was going on. Vaisey was passed out with gauze wrapped around his head. What happened to him? Apollo suddenly flashed in next to my bed.

"Percy! You're awake!" Apollo's voice exclaimed.

He immediately crushed me in a hug, but what continued to bother me was I couldn't feel his touch. No squeezing feeling, or anything. I saw the movement of my body and knew it was being messed with, but I still felt nothing.

"Percy, what's wrong?" Apollo whispered.

I looked at him worriedly as he pulled away from me,"I didn't feel any of that. I can't feel anything below my neck."

"Don't worry." Apollo told me firmly,"We'll fix it. We didn't know what exactly was wrong besides the broken bones, so that's all we could fix. I'll go get Madam Pomfrey."

Then he barged into the medial lounge. I heard a groan from beside me, drawing my attention. Vaisey was waking up. I watched him as he left the world of sleep. His movements were sluggish, and he shifted his head to the side several times.

"Percy?" He murmured.

"Yes, Vaisey?" I responded quietly.

"Are you okay?" He groaned, putting a hand to his head.

I frowned,"Are you?"

He suddenly chuckled,"Got hit in the head with a bludger. They kept me here overnight to keep an eye on me. I don't know what I am."

I pursed my lips,"What's the last thing you remember? Brain damage sucks."

His lips thinned into a line,"I was chasing after you, trying to catch you, when Crabbe hit the bludger at me. I was behind Potter, the rest of the Gryffindor team was in front us of both. That's why Malfoy got the snitch."

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion, he rammed into my side making me lose my grip. Why would he try to help me? He even shot a stunning spell at me to stop me from bringing Sally. Oh gods, where is Sally? I'll think about that later when I can actually move, I compromised.

"Why?" I asked him.

He grimaced,"You weren't supposed to hit the ground. That wasn't part of the plan."

I narrowed my eyes at him,"Plan?"

Vaisey ignored me,"You were only supposed to get hurt. Not almost die."

"What?"

He looked at me seriously,"You stopped breathing. Your cousin, the one working with Madam Pomfrey, gave you the muggle CPR thing."

That explained a lot of things. I'll have to tell Hermes I saw his son briefly. I saw Annabeth too, but Luke means more to Hermes than Annabeth does. I died... that's why I was in the Underworld. Wow... that's kind of sad. They hate me so much they willingly caused me pain.

I looked at Vaisey again,"Why did you do it?"

He looked away,"I didn't want to."

"Then why did you?" I pushed.

"I swear, I didn't mean to hurt you so much." Vaisey kept rambling to avoid the question.

I looked at him solemnly, gently asking him again,"Why did you do it?"

"Because I had to!" Vaisey basically shouted.

If I could move, I would've recoiled from his tone,"Why?"

He took a deep breath,"Even though I'm a seventh year, Malfoy still rules the school. He has connections that will get my family hurt if I don't comply."

My face expressed one of sympathy,"I'm sorry."

He scowled,"I don't know why he targeted you, but you-know-who will kill my father if I don't help Malfoy. After all, Malfoy has a job given to him by the evil wizard himself."

My eyebrows furrowed,"How do you know this?"

He looked down,"My mother was a muggle, and when my father told her he was a wizard, she left him and gave me away. My father tracked me down when I was six. His sister got sucked into you-know-who's group, and he took her place so she wouldn't die. The ministry gave a pass for his reasons, but Malfoy found out and dragged me back in."

"Why don't you and your father flee?" I asked him curiously.

"We will. After the end of this school year, we're both going to America."

I nodded,"Why don't you leave now?"

He shrugged defeatedly,"My father wanted me to finish school first."

I really looked at him this time. He had sunken back on his bed, looking small. Vaisey had dark bags under his eyes, and besides the pure muscle, he didn't look like he's been well. I frowned, I couldn't hold anything against him. Anyone in his place would've done the same. I could help him I realized. I wanted to help him, I will help him.

"I can keep your father safe." I offered in a low voice.

He glared at me, but it didn't faze me,"Don't try me. Look where you are right now. You can't even protect yourself."

"I know very powerful people." I promised.

He rolled his eyes, but I saw him perk up in interest,"You're a sixth year. Who would you know."

I tilted my head head from side to side,"I'm seventeen, I'm also from America. How old are you?"

"Eighteen, recently turned." He answered gruffly,"Who do you know?"

I bit my lip,"I can't tell you that."

Vaisey glared at me,"I just have to believe your people will be able to keep him safe?"

I nodded,"Trust me. I can get him out of the country by tomorrow."

He connected eyes with me. Vaisey searched my eyes for any lies, but what I told him was truth. I would help him. He finally leaned back in defeat, sighing loudly. I continued to study him, waiting for his answer.

"Do it. Leave me here until the end of the year though, otherwise it'll look suspicious. I'll just say my dad had some problems with his sister, so he had to go on visit her. She's in Norway anyways."

"As soon as I can move again, I will." I swore.

Vaisey frowned, hopping off of his bed, and heading towards mine,"What do you mean?"

He stopped next to me, I looked up at him,"I can't move anything below my neck. When I fell, something tore."

His eyebrows furrowed. He lifted my sheets, reaching to touch my foot. I was propped against some pillows, and someone put me in the gowns you see in the hospitals. I blushed when I realized how close to transparent it was. I was basically naked, with this handsome dude standing next to me. Vaisey didn't seem to mind, touching my foot, and looking at me questionably.

"Can you feel this?"

I shook my head,"No."

His frown deepened, moving up to my knee. He looked at me again, I shook my head once more. This time he gave me a mischievous smile, putting his hand under the gown. My face was redder than one of Apollo's cows. He moved his hand twice, looking at me, but I shook my head each time. He didn't look satisfied.

Vaisey's hand reappeared and made contact with my forearm. His jaw tightened when my head shifted from side to side. He put his hands down the front of my gown, and I saw him touching my chest. Vaisey's eyes bore into mine. I felt shame when I continued to disappoint him.

What if they couldn't fix my body? What if I could never feel anything below my neck again. What was I going to do? I'd have to depend on someone for everything, and that's just not me. Then I felt his hand on my cheek, cupping it. I didn't realize it, but some tears were falling. His finger wiped them away gently.

"Can you feel this?" Vaisey's soft voice asked me.

"Y—es." I finally replied, my voice cracking.

"Percy! It'll be okay." Apollo's voice interrupted as he dragged Madam Pomfrey into the room.

"Don't worry, Mr. Jackson." She assured me, going on the opposite side of my bed,"Now that we know what's officially wrong, we can get your healed in a jiffy!"

I sighed in relief,"How long will it take?"

She poured me a glass of something,"Two days since it's severe, but it'll be painful!"

"Do you need me to stay with you?" Apollo asked me from beside Vaisey,"Or Lucas? Maybe Sirius?"

"I can." Vaisey volunteered.

I looked at him surprised. Apollo and Madam Pomfrey did as well. Apollo had narrowed his eyes in on my team mate, looking like he was going to object. I didn't want that, I wanted to keep his friendship that he was willing to give.

"Okay." I agreed, confusing Apollo,"I need to speak with you and Lucas though, Fred."

Apollo slowly nodded,"I'll bring him in tomorrow morning."

"Drink up, Mr. Jackson." Madam Pomfrey prompted.

She brought the odd smelling liquid to my lips. I stared at it for a few seconds, glancing worriedly at Vaisey and Apollo. They both nodded at me encouragingly. Hesitantly, I opened my mouth so she could pour it in. It was a struggle, and embarrassingly enough, a little dribbled down my chin, onto my gown, but the rest ended up in my mouth.

I chocked on it, but managed to swallow the foul medicine. I coughed after I got it down, trying to make the taste go away. Vaisey brought a wet cloth from who knows where, and cleaned the medicine off my face. Apollo shoved a water bottle to my lips, forcing me to drink like a baby. I would've minded earlier, but a dull pain was already starting to throb.

"You'll start feeling your injuries from before they were healed as a late response to the brain, but it'll be gone by the end of the first day." Madame Pomfrey told me,"I have some muggle pain killers, but they'll eventually wear off. Vaisey here can distract you, I'll write him an excuse."

I nodded tiredly,"I'm starting to feel it. I think I'll get some sleep before it really kicks in."

I was falling fast asleep as my head was falling to the pillow. Before I was completely passed out though, a soothing hand ran its was through my hair, making me momentarily forget the pain. My world starting fading to darkness, but I heard Vaisey whisper something to me before.

"You'll be okay." He said,"You protect me, I'll protect you."

***Line Break***

"You weren't supposed to be like this." Someone's voice said quietly, waking me from my sleep.

My body jerked a little as pain entered it. I gasped, feeling the agony. Maybe I shouldn't want to feel anything if this is what it felt like. My body arched, and I almost let out a scream, but fingers clasped over my mouth, making my eyes fly open. Next to my bed alone was Malfoy. My body sunk into the bed again, and my breathing became erratic.

"Like what?" I moaned.

"In this much pain." He replied, his eyes unreadable.

"That's what I keep hearing. What went wrong?" I asked him breathlessly, my eyes rolling into my head.

Malfoy just stood there, tracing a pattern in my arm,"Crabbe and Goyle. They got orders from their fathers, who got orders from the Lord when they heard what we were going to do."

A small pained sound erupted from my mouth,"Why does he care?"

Malfoy raised an eyebrow,"Apparently your skill without a wand is something to be feared. He's scared of you, you're something unknown."

I closed my eyes tightly, managing to crunch my fists,"How so?"

"You're from America. Your accent is a dead give away. There's no bloody way you're the son of Sirius, but I'm letting everyone else believe that." He replied, his eyes staring right into mine.

"Why?" I gasped harshly, whimpering a little.

Malfoy rolled his eyes,"I've been watching you. That therapy cat is for PTSD. Your scars, torture, you've been through the hard life."

"Yeah." I grunted,"Good job, Captain Obvious. Thanks for making it harder too."

He looked pointedly at me,"Those were tests. You told me a lot in your drunken state. Your mother, your girlfriend dying by your hand, of course for the greater good. Your boyfriend, you've lost a lot of people."

I took a deep breath, but felt like my torso was plunged into lava,"Thanks for reminding me."

Malfoy flicked my face,"You're strong. I'm preparing you for what's to come. This, is only the beginning of you-know-who. I have a job to do, and it'll end horribly, but you will prevail."

That caught my attention, I pushed the pain into the back of my mind,"You're protecting someone too. You want me to defeat Voldemort."

I hissed in pain when he slapped his hand harshly over my mouth,"Don't say his name! Yes, I don't believe Potter can do it, at least not alone."

He ignored the protecting part of my statement, but I didn't care. He basically answered my question. I raised my eyebrows when he talked about Harry, he knew that Harry was the one destined to defeat Voldemort. That wasn't common knowledge, or maybe he was just guessing, either way I don't care.

Malfoy was correct when he said Harry couldn't do it alone though. That's true, he needs his friends, just like I did. Time to get to the real stuff I decided. I stuck my tongue through my lips and licked his fingers. Malfoy recoiled with a disgusted expression on his face.

"Ew! Bloody hell, Jackson! Don't lick me! I don't know how many germs are on there from all the dicks you sucked!" Malfoy spat.

I narrowed my eyes, sitting up despite the pain, and grabbing his shirt, pulling him to eye level,"I'm not a slut just because I'm bisexual. Call me that again, and no matter how hurt I am, you'll end up worse."

He gritted his teeth, and nodded stiffly,"Let go of me."

I released him, falling back against the pillows. My body was wracked with pain again, and I let my head fall back, relaxing all my muscles. A shudder overcame my body, and it went from my toes to my hair. I shivered, but felt a cold sweat erupt all over me. If only Vaisey put his cool hands on me now. I cracked my eyes open again to find Malfoy still staring at me stoically.

"I'm sorry for this." He apologized.

My eyes widened,"Why are you apologizing, you're the one that planned the whole—most of the thing."

Malfoy looked away,"You were only supposed to get hurt enough to distract Potter and his gang. He keeps prying, and if he was distracted by your condition, then I'd be left alone to fulfill the plan."

I cocked my head to the side,"That's why you caught the snitch. To end the game."

He nodded. I looked at my body indecisively. This explained so much, just like Vaisey, but I knew Malfoy would continue to test me. Vaisey was going to become my friend, but since he was a seventh year, I wouldn't see him much. Although probably more now that I've talked to my cousins who called up my father to protect his. Vaisey's dad was now in America, living in the Empire State Building, directly beneath the gods.

"I'll help you." I decided,"You go through with your evil plan, and I'll help you conquer the evil wizard."

Malfoy bit his lip,"I have to kill someone."

I nodded my head assuredly,"I can tell. You're nervous, and trying to find a way where you don't have to face the victim. The necklace was a dead give away."

He wrinkled his nose at my quote,"You won't stop me?"

I shrugged my busted shoulders,"One for thousands, there's no other way."

Malfoy softly patted me on the shoulder, nodding in respect and appreciation. I nodded back, and tried to settle better in my bed. Surprisingly, the Slytherin silently aided me. I nodded gratefully to him. He ruffled my hair in response, heading to the door. He paused in the middle of it, looking back at me seriously.

"You and Vaisey, I won't stop that." He promised.

I gave him a small smile,"My first Slytherin friend."

"You need help to stop him, I guarantee my mother's and father's help, but only if it remains a secret." Malfoy bargained.

"It is done." I whispered.

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