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Percy nodded slowly, the idea taking root. "Yeah... yeah, I think I can probably manage that. It will be tricky, but possible. But... what if I do not make it in time? What if, just by some horrible chance, I get held up in the maze and he reaches it before I do?"
Hecate frowned for a moment, deep in thought. Then, her eyes lit up, and she snapped her fingers again with a flourish. "A reverse Portkey!"
Percy blinked, completely confused. "A... a reverse Portkey? Is that even possible? I 'ave never heard of such a thing."
Hecate just shrugged, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Honestly? I have no clue if it is truly possible or not. But you, my clever nephew, should definitely try and make one! Right now!"
"But... but you are the goddess of magic! How can you not know if something like that is possible or not?!" Percy exclaimed, bewildered.
Hecate shrugged again, unconcerned. "A huge part of magic, Percy, is how it reacts and manifests individually for each unique person who wields it. I am sure there are countless certain types of small, personal magic out there that even I may not know about. Like, perhaps, an easier, more efficient version of the simple color-changing charm that some unknown witch invented in her kitchen, or something similar. After all," she continued, warming to her explanation, "Ares might be the god of war, but that does not mean he can automatically know every single new martial art style that someone creates in their own head and then never performs in public. Magic is vast and ever-changing."
Percy blinked, trying to process that. "I see... I think. So, a reverse Portkey, then?"
Hecate nodded firmly. "Honestly, Percy? Given the Fates' warning, it is probably your only real chance to be there at the end without completely messing up destiny."
Percy gulped, then nodded, his expression determined. Just then, Fleur walked back into the room, looking a little disappointed that her family had left so soon. She looked at Percy's pale, serious face and groaned. "What 'appened now, Perzy? You look like you just zaw a ghozt."
Percy cleared his throat, trying to regain his composure. "Well, you see... those three old women you saw..."
"Your 'grandmothers'?" Fleur asked, raising an eyebrow skeptically.
Percy blinked, then he turned to look at Hecate, who just nodded with a knowing look. Percy sighed. "Right, yes. My grandmothers. They are... well, they are not exactly the nicest people around, you know? They tend to be real downers... I am so sorry I acted all freaky like that in front of your parents. I promise I will make it up to you somehow."
Fleur's expression softened into a smile. "Well, you better," she said, her voice teasing. She then turned to Hecate. "It iz very nice to zee you again too, Hecate. I 'ope you enjoy watching me kick your nephew'z behind in ze task tonight."
Percy snorted. "You wish, Tweety."
Hecate sighed dramatically, placing a hand over her heart. "Ah, young love. Such a wonderful, beautiful thing. And here I was, just thinking poor Percy was simply going to go from one wild orgy to another for the rest of his life."
Percy's face went bright red with embarrassment. "Hecate! Not in front of Fleur!"
"And that is my cue to leave!" Hecate declared cheerfully. She gave Fleur a quick, warm hug. "Good luck in there tonight, Birdie! And do not go dying on me, okay? I quite like you." She then ran over to Harry's side. "Foodo! Come on, boy, it is time for us to go now!"
Percy sighed as the goddess practically dragged a reluctant Sirius (still in dog form) away. Foodo kept giving Harry sad, pleading looks over his shoulder, only for the boy to chuckle and wave the dog away good-naturedly.
Fleur smiled as she hugged Percy tightly, then she whispered in his ear, her voice serious again, "Who were those three women really, Percy?"
Percy held her tightly, burying his face in her fragrant hair for a moment. "Bad news, Fleur..." he murmured against her ear. "...Very, very bad news... Please, just be careful out there tonight, okay? I 'ave a really bad feeling about this whole thing."
Fleur did not know exactly why he was asking her to be so careful, not more than usual, but seeing the genuine fear in his eyes, she promised him that she would, just the same.
A few minutes later, the champions and their families all left the small room to go their separate ways, to prepare for the evening's task.
Percy immediately went to his hidden workshop in the Forbidden Forest, claiming he wanted to make some last-minute adjustments to his equipment.
Fleur, meanwhile, said she wanted to take a long nap, to make sure she was fully alert and rested for the challenges ahead.
The moment he got into his workshop in the Forest, Percy moved like a man possessed. He took out every single advanced Charms book he owned, or had borrowed from the library, and began dissecting the standard Portus charm, step by painstaking step.
Within an hour's time, fueled by adrenaline and desperation, he had it fully figured out.
He had broken down each and every intricate system and magical component of the charm into a series of singular, understandable processes.
He then began the much more difficult task of trying to find a method to reverse it. He needed to create a charm where an object would be magically linked to a specific person, rather than to a fixed geographical location.
The person themselves would then act like a magical anchor, allowing the linked-up object and whoever happened to be holding it at the time to travel to that person's current location instantly, like a magical tow rope.
This reverse Portkey process, as Percy quickly came to find out, was a bit more complicated and magically demanding than creating a simple, standard Portus charm.
He had to establish a strong, stable magical link between the teleporting object and the person in question, a link that could cross considerable distances and even bypass some magical interference.
Luckily, this was where the Marauder's Map, and the knowledge he had gained from studying it, came in to help him.
Thanks to the complex runes and charms the Marauders had used to detect and track people on their map, Percy was able to devise a new, similar charm that could act as a stable anchor for his reverse Portus charm.
To keep things simple, and because it kind of felt like what it did, Percy decided to call this new anchoring charm the "Zipline" charm.
Now, there was only one big problem left. How in the world was he going to get Harry to agree to be the anchor for this untested, potentially dangerous new spell?
It was during lunch, much later that day, when Percy finally decided to just throw caution to the wind and take a chance. He called Harry aside after they had finished eating, pulling him into an abandoned classroom on the first floor.
Quickly, his mind racing, the demigod began to cast powerful privacy charms all around the room, sealing the door and windows. No one, not even the all-seeing Fates, he hoped, should be privy to his desperate, last-minute plans.
"Percy, what is going on?" Harry asked, looking around the suddenly sealed room, his voice sounding a little worried and confused. "Why did you call me in here like this? Is something wrong?"
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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