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Fleur wrinkled her nose in disgust, holding the small, bubbling vial of potion at arm's length. The liquid inside was a murky, unpleasant-looking brown, with bits of something unidentifiable floating in it. "Ugh, Perzy," she said, her voice filled with distaste. "It looks like actual hippogriff zhit."
"It will probably taste much, much worse than that, trust me," Percy replied with a wide, slightly sadistic smirk playing on his lips. From her perch on his nearby desk, Kelly, the enchanted shrunken head, let out a series of high-pitched, delighted giggles. "Sucker!" Kelly cackled.
"You both are absolutely 'orrible!" Fleur hissed, glaring first at Percy and then at the still-giggling head. "Percy, you are supposed to say something comforting, like, 'No, Fleur my love, do not worry! It tastes much better than it actually looks!'"
"You would rather I lie to you then?" Percy asked, raising an eyebrow, his smirk not fading.
"To spare me ze pain of drinking zis disgusting stuff?! Yes! A thousand times yes!" Fleur declared dramatically. Kelly threw her tiny head back and laughed, a loud, cackling sound that echoed in their secret room.
Percy laughed too, shaking his head. "Okay, okay, I will try to remember that for next time. Now..." his voice turned a bit more serious, though his eyes still twinkled with amusement, "...stop stalling! Drink it up, Tweety bird! Time to find your inner animal!"
Fleur grumbled under her breath, muttering something in French about inconsiderate boyfriends and nasty potions.
"This 'ad better be worth all ze trouble," she said, squinting her eyes shut tightly.
She took a deep breath, and then, with a look of grim determination, she tossed the potion back, drinking the thick, gritty liquid in one quick, shuddering gulp.
She shivered visibly as the Animagus potion went down her throat. She looked over at Percy, her face contorted in a grimace of pain and disgust. "Ugh! Zat was 'orrible! Like drinking pure, undiluted salt!"
Percy nodded sympathetically. "Yup, that is pretty much what it is. Very concentrated magical salts and herbs. Anyway," he continued, his tone becoming more instructional, "remember what I told you. You will start to feel very sleepy very soon. You need to fight that sleepiness for as long as you possibly can. And then, when you finally do drift off, allow yourself to look around the place you dream of."
"For me, it was my old summer camp, Camp Half-Blood. I am assuming for you, it will probably be your 'ome in France, or maybe even Beauxbatons Academy. If you 'ave trouble keeping yourself awake, just try doing complicated math problems in your 'ead. That usually 'elps."
Fleur nodded, looking a bit pale but determined. "Right," she said, her voice a little shaky.
Percy quickly conjured a comfortable-looking bed in the middle of their secret room, complete with soft pillows and a warm blanket.
He gently helped her over to it and tucked her in. She managed a weak smirk as he fussed with the blanket.
"You better not try anything naughty when I am asleep, Mr. Jackson."
Percy smirked back, leaning down to kiss her forehead softly. "Oh please, Fleur," he whispered teasingly. "I already know that if I ever really want you to do something for me, all I 'ave to do..." he lowered his voice even further, his lips brushing her ear, "...is ask nicely."
Fleur chuckled, a soft, sleepy sound. Her eyelids were becoming visibly heavy now. "Cheeky... cheeky zea boy," she murmured, her words slurring slightly.
"Love you too, honey," Percy whispered back gently. But by then, Fleur's eyes had already fluttered shut. She had gone completely limp, fast asleep.
That was not a very long time to fight the potion's effects, Percy thought with a slight frown. He really hoped she would be able to find her true Animagus form without too many issues or complications.
With Fleur now safely asleep and hopefully journeying through her subconscious, Percy quietly went over to his work table. He picked up his well-worn copy of Advanced Potion-Making.
It was the kind of incredibly dense and complicated textbook that people used when they were seriously trying to obtain an official Mastery in the art of potion-making.
It was a long, tiresome, and incredibly difficult task for most wizards, requiring years of dedicated study.
But for Percy, with his natural affinity for potions and his enhanced learning, it was almost like a light, interesting read.
"Book! Book now!" Kelly suddenly cried out from her spot on the desk, her tiny voice demanding Percy's immediate attention.
The demigod chuckled, shaking his head. "Right, sorry, Kelly. I almost forgot about you," he said.
He reached into a drawer and took out a small, brightly illustrated, 30-page children's storybook.
He had picked it up on his last trip to Hogsmeade specifically for Kelly. It seemed that whatever powerful magic Hecate had used to animate the shrunken head had also made her able to understand written words and enjoy stories, much like a young child.
Percy was still incredibly curious as to just what kind of ancient and powerful magic Hecate had actually used on the doll.
If he did not know any better, he would almost say she had basically given Kelly a form of real life, almost like creating a soul for her, albeit in the somewhat creepy shape of a shrunken toy head.
But nevertheless, that was a complex magical mystery for another time, when he had more time to investigate.
He reached into his desk drawer again and took out the magical blood band the circlet that, when worn, significantly improved his intelligence and learning speed.
Ever since Percy had made his serious promise to Fleur to try and become a professor at Beauxbatons so that they could be together after Hogwarts, he had been working and studying like an absolute crazy person.
Though, at certain low points, he still did not feel like it was even truly possible for him to achieve. Sure, in the non-magical mortal world, some brilliant college students did sometimes become professors right out of college, teaching students who were only a year or two younger than them.
But could the same principles really be applied here, in the very traditional and structured wizarding world? He was not so sure.
So, he had gone ahead and secretly asked Hecate for her permission to use the dangerous blood band again, hoping it would help him learn all the required material much quicker, just like it had before when he was first learning magic.
The goddess had written back to him much quicker this time around. She had given him her blessing to use it, but not without going on and on in her letter about how he was acting like a "pathetic, love-sick puppy," and telling him to "grow a pair of balls already."
But Percy knew, or at least he hoped, that secretly, deep down, she was actually happy for him and proud of his determination.
He had been using the blood band quite a lot lately, though always without Fleur's knowledge. He knew she would not like the fact that he was using such a potentially dangerous magical artifact, especially if she knew what it really was and what the risks could be.
She did not realize that his unique demigod physiology meant he probably could not suffer from any of the negative side effects or permanent damages the band could cause to a normal wizard.
She would just worry herself sick about him, and then probably feel like blaming herself for pushing him so hard, which was something Percy really, really wanted to avoid.
He had eventually also had a private, discreet talk with Madame Maxime, the Headmistress of Beauxbatons, a few days ago, also without Fleur's knowledge.
He had wanted to know exactly what she, as a Headmistress, expected from a potential professor, and how to best go about obtaining such a prestigious job.
He did not want Fleur to know he was doing this yet, just in case it did not work out. He did not want her to start getting her hopes up too high, only to be disappointed if he failed.
Madame Maxime had, at first, been very surprised that Percy was even considering taking up a teaching job at Beauxbatons.
But once he had carefully explained his reasons his relationship with Fleur and his desire to build a future with her she had become much more understanding and supportive.
She had spoken to him in great detail, in French, about what she expected from her staff, the qualifications needed, and the best way to go about the application process.
Madame Maxime had also told him, much to his relief, that if he did officially apply for a position, he would have her full support and recommendation.
From what she had seen him do so far during the Triwizard Tournament, and from what she had heard about his other magical achievements, she was genuinely impressed.
She said that any magical school would be proud and lucky to have a professor with such unique achievements and raw talent under his belt, even if he was, admittedly, very young and somewhat inexperienced in formal teaching.
That last part, her quiet encouragement, had given Percy a little spark of real hope, which is why he was even bothering to try so hard now.
Fleur, bless her heart, had been helping him immensely with his studies. He did, after all, have to learn over a year's worth of very advanced subjects in just a few short months before the NEWT exams. But these past few months, while intense, had also been very, very productive.
Percy now felt quite confident that he could indeed obtain an early pass, and probably a high grade, in almost all the subjects he took.
Except, of course, for DADA, because of bloody, stubborn Professor Moody, and Charms, which he really, really did try his best to fix, but still struggled with.
So far, Professor Flitwick had commended Percy on his recent charm work, claiming it had definitely improved. But the tiny professor had also said that the demigod still needed to do much more practice, much more study.
He had to. He absolutely needed to get an early pass in Charms too, if at all possible. Fleur did promise she would wait for him, but the thought of Percy having to come back to Hogwarts for another full year just to attend two measly classes seemed a little bit... well, moronic, and a huge waste of time.
It was about twenty minutes later when Fleur suddenly woke up with a sharp, indrawn gasp, her body jolting upright in the conjured bed.
She began to pant heavily, her eyes wide and unfocused.
Immediately, Percy put away the blood band he had been wearing and was by her side in an instant, gently helping her to sit up properly against the pillows.
"What happened? What did you see?" he asked urgently, his voice calm but concerned.
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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