Chapter Text
Harry usually wasn’t jealous of Percy. Sure, the guy had three stunning fiancés, and a little brother who’d given him several millions in gems just so the rings would be perfect, but Harry had a Draco, and he was pretty damn happy with that.
Then Harry and Jason were the last to the dorm on account of getting held up in an argument with some bitchy seventh year who Jason ripped to shreds with exactly no mercy. The only seat left was the loveseat, which was a great size if you were wholly comfortable being on top of the person you were sitting with, but which was pretty damn small if you weren’t. Unfortunately, the demigods didn’t seem to function like normal people, because Harry expected Nico to relinquish Draco and call over Jason, so that Draco could sit with Harry, and Jason could sit with Nico and Will. That would’ve been fine. If Harry didn’t know the demigods, he genuinely wouldn’t have been able to decisively say who was together they were all that close, unless you happened to see the little mannerisms that defined the more sibling like relationships. But no, Jason just flopped onto the loveseat, with enough space left for Harry to either lay half on top of the guy, or perch uncomfortably like some weird bird. Seamus and Dean were sprawled out on the floor along with Ginny and Luna, meaning that wasn’t really an option either. So that’s how he ended up half on top of Jason Grace, wishing he was this ready to touch people all the time because the dude’s chest was actually the comfiest thing in the world, and jealous of Percy, Annabeth, and Piper for getting to regularly experience this.
Harry made eyes at Draco, who just nodded knowingly. Why had nobody informed him that built men’s chests were the eighth wonder of the world? Sure hugging Nico was comfy, but he was shorter than Harry, and Will was muscular, yeah, but more in a lean way, like Percy. Harry was pretty sure that if he and Draco stood next to each other, Jason’s shoulders would be broader than theirs combined. It was also nice because it felt..brotherly. Like hugging Ron, if Ron were six foot three and extremely ripped. He didn’t feel small and safe, like with Nico and Will, who managed to make him feel like a little kid without trying, there was no tension or expectation, like there sometimes was with Draco. He was just a guy hugging his bro. Just dudes being pals.
As if reading his mind, Jason ruffled his hair. “You know you’ve still got one grandparent to meet, right? Well technically two, but one of them is a-“
“Raging bag of dicks.” Percy called over, even as the sky rumbled threateningly. “A raging bag of dicks who visited me in my dream to say I should’ve asked for permission to propose to you.” He added loudly.
Jason’s face darkened. “Well, that means he’s had more interactions with you in one day than he’s had with me since the celebration ceremony for the war, so yeah, Harry. You’ve got one grandparent left to meet. Although I think Draco thinks of her as his great aunt.”
“Hera?” Harry guessed, a little nervous. She’d seemed nice when she’d shown up for all of five minutes a few months ago, but sometimes Annabeth or Piper returned from their brunches with Hera in Hogsmeade, fuming. “I don’t have to like..go to Olympus do I?”
Nico snorted, and Jason laughed humourlessly. “Nah.” He reassured him. “You can either come to brunch, or we’ll all just go to the next family dinner. I’ve got Hades a book of dad jokes for his..not birthday. Disgorgement day, so he’ll totally be fine if I invite Hera.”
“Wait, it’s dad’s disgorgement day soon? Fuck.” Nico swore. “Gods, Jay, why would you not remind me of this?”
Jason winked conspiratorially at Harry. “I like to watch you flounder.”
Percy laughed, then gasped and made puppy dog eyes. “Little Mermaid?”
“No way.” Annabeth rebuked, just as Jason and Piper agreed.
——
They watched the Little Mermaid.
Piper and Jason procured some contraption that Piper said was built by Leo, some kind of merge between a projector and a phone. They set it to play on the back wall, and rearranged all the couches to face it.
Harry looked at Jason awkwardly. “Do you want me to sit somewhere else?”
He looked up from where he was attempting engorgio on one of Percy’s hoodies. “If you wanna sit with Draco, go for it, but Perce and Pipes are gonna sing along to this whole film, so I’m staying here, in the interest of keeping my ear drums intact.” Harry hoped he sounded as fond and lovesick as Jason did talking about them. “Annabeth will hold out for at least the first song, but then she’ll join them. So will Will.” He finally managed to get the spell right, and tugged the hoodie over his head. The bagginess, which always made Nico, Percy, Piper, and Annabeth look adorable, did nothing to hide his size, but he snuggled into it happily the same way the others did.
“You say that like you couldn’t sing along to Hercules backwards!” Will called over. Draco had moved to sit with Luna so they could whisper together. In his absence, Will had sprawled out across the length of the sofa, and Nico was fully laid on top of him, looking half asleep already.
Jason rolled his eyes. “It’s about my brother, and he hates it. Of course I know all the words. Two years ago he showed up in my dream to tell me that every time I sing along he can hear it. Now I do it extra loud.”
“Yeah well this is about my brother.” Percy complained, looking far too content. “Also, did you know Tri and Thanny sing along to Hercules in exactly the same way for the same reason?”
“Yeah, but your brother is happily shacking up with an absolutely stunning winged death god.” Jason retorted. “I can’t annoy him by singing about his theoretical children, he’s living the life. My brother is stuck on an island in the Mediterranean, and it’s like I’m contributing to his torture. I love it.”
“Can we stop talking about my “hot” family members?” Nico requested grumpily, doing air quotes around hot. “First my dad, now my uncle. Next you’re gonna start on my moms.”
“You don’t think Thanatos is hot?” Percy raised an eyebrow. “Seriously? Are you blind?”
“..I call him uncle Thanny? Sometimes he carries me on his shoulder like a little kid when we do jobs together around the underworld? He literally brings me bags of sweets if he has to sort something somewhere cool. I couldn’t see him like that.”
“You think of Jay as a brother and you’ve called him hot.” Piper teased, grinning broadly.
“Yeah but I knew Jay for a while before we got that close. The first time I met Uncle Thanny he gave me ten drachma and told me to wave it in Charon’s face on the way out, I’ve never thought of him as anything but family.”
“Wait.” Harry interrupted, finally calling to mind what Thanatos looked like. “You’re saying that you don’t think Thanatos, six five, big wings, incredibly ripped Thanatos is hot?”
The demigods cheered, and Draco started laughing loudly.
Nico shrugged. “I don’t actively think of any of you guys as attractive either,”
“Hey!” Will sat up slightly. “You better think about your nexts words, baby.”
Percy and Piper ohhed in unison.
He sighed. “Obviously I’m not talking about you, Tesoro. But like..I probably had a moment as an eleven year old like oh shit this guy is hot, but I also had a four year period where I was like shit Percy is hot and now I can’t look at him without getting severe flashbacks to the time he tried my skinny jeans and got his calves stuck in the thighs. Jason is exactly my type on paper, but in my head he’s just a besotted fool whining about how desperately he wanted to fuck Percy when he took on the entire Ares cabin and won in a mini capture the flag, but also he would like to stare dreamily into Annabeth’s eyes whilst she talks about architecture for the result of his life but wait no, he’s gotta drool over Piper whilst she’s surfing. Sure when he gets aged up to look all distinguished and not like someone I know, I can appreciate his appearance, but Uncle Thanny wears SnapBacks and basketball shorts. He’s just my frat boy brother slash uncle.”
Annabeth cleared her throat after a moment of awed silence. “Well I, for one, get where Neeks is coming from. It’s like...the opposite of me, right?” She smiled at him. “Like at first I couldn’t see what people saw in Jay and Pipes, and then I got to know them, and now I think they’re stunning.”
“Woah, what about me?” Percy looked offended.
“Seaweed Brain, we were twelve when we met. I was too busy trying to prove my worth to my mom and Luke to find you attractive.”
“Ah yes.” Ron drawled. “All girls are trying to prove their worth to their perceived parental figures at twelve. That’s why I like Hermione so much, she wasn’t trying to prove herself to her mum and dad, she was trying to prove herself to the most powerful wizard alive.”
“I mean technically Annabeth was trying to prove herself to the oldest trainer of warriors ever, the guy that trained Achilles and that, Ronald.” Hermione replied, then flushed pink. “But thanks.” She curled into his side comfortably.
“I personally,” Seamus declared. “Agree with Nico. Thanatos is too...Thanatos. He’s absolutely gorgeous for like thirty seconds and then he pulls a SnapBack out of the nether and it disappears.”
“Oh my gods, tell me about it!” Nico threw his hands up. “And the sunglasses!”
“Hey, you like it when I wear sunglasses.” Will pouted.
“Yeah, but one, you look hot in sunglasses, and two, you wear them out in the sun, not in the fucking underworld. Nobody should be wearing sunglasses in the underworld.”
“Amen to that.” Seamus agreed. “I’ve started stealing his sunglasses.”
“He has.” Dean nodded, heaving a long suffering sigh. “Sometimes I try to steal his jumper or something and I just find piles of sunglasses.”
——
Tonks found them like that two hours later, Nico and Will fully passed out, and Harry on his way there, still leant on Jason. She was with McGonagall, who had obviously directed her to their room. She was holding a mottled green snake in her arms, looking highly uncomfortable.
Piper saw her first. “Oh my gods! Is that a saw scaled viper? Can I hold her? Oh gods, she’s absolutely gorgeous.”
“Please take it off me.” Tonks practically threw the snake at Piper, who started crooning at it gently.
Harry sat up, rubbing his eyes blearily. “Is that it?”
Tonks nodded. “One of Voldemort’s followers said it’s name is Nagini.”
“Oh Nagini..” piper grinned at the snake. “That’s a lovely name. Jaybird can you wake Neeks up?”
Jason nodded tiredly. “Can I just shock him or do I need to not hurt him?”
She rolled her eyes. “Try the not hurting him first. Your best bet is probably just to wake Will up though.”
He nodded and stumbled over to the other couch. Harry never really saw him like this, half asleep, eyes drifting shut. “Hey Will. Will.” He shook Will.
Will groaned and sat up a bit, careful not to jostle Nico too much. “What is it?”
“Tonks brought the snake, bro. We need Neeks to do the thing so we don’t have to kill it.”
“Oh shit.” Will mumbled, then pressed a glowing hand to Nico’s forehead.
“Fuck off.” Nico muttered, sitting up. “What?”
“Baby, you gotta remove the horcrux from the snake, yeah?”
“Snake?”
He sighed. “Voldemort’s snake, sweetheart.”
“Oh.” Nico’s eyes fluttered shut, and Will shook him. “Right! Snake! Um..yeah..sword..” he looked around for his sword frantically.
Will took pity on him. “It’s in the Shadows, beautiful.”
Nico flushed and nodded, shoving his hands into the shadows. Tonks jaw dropped in Harry’s peripheral as Nico pulled his sword out.
“Snake?”
Piper held her arms out carefully. “Don’t hurt her. I wanna keep her.”
Nico nodded and stared intently at his sword as though he was trying to remember what he had to do with it. It took a nudge from Will before he jolted slightly. “Fuck. Right. Yeah. Um.” He tapped the tip of the sword against the snake’s head gently, having to hold it at an awkward angle.
After a moment of squinting he nodded in satisfaction. “It’s fine. No more horcruxes. But that fucker’s got some kick ass venom Pipes, so please don’t kill anyone with her.”
“I know, right? Saw scaled viper are so cool.” Piper retreated back to the sofa with Annabeth and Percy, whispering to the snake. She tripped over Jason, who’d fallen asleep on the floor, and seemed to take that as a sign; she just laid down on the floor next to him and cuddled close, like sleeping on the floor with your fiancé and a deadly snake was perfectly normal.
There should have been more to it. There should’ve been some tremor in the ground, the windows should’ve smashed in, Harry should’ve passed out, he should’ve-
He didn’t know, exactly, what should’ve happened. But it felt weird. He had only Nico’s word that Voldemort was never coming back. All he had assuring him that he would never have to fight again was his boyfriend’s dad’s promise, his boyfriend’s dad, who’d finished it all off, half asleep and in need of help just to stay awake.
Harry should have-..felt some immediate sense of peace, felt a rush of relief or freedom as his brain registered that there were no doubts, now, he could live his life however the fuck he wanted with no bloody dictator wanna be attempting to kill him.
The only thing that hit him was a wave of exhaustion, although if he listening to Will, which he did, that might have been as much a sign as some rush of exhilaration. His body was relaxing.
——
Harry woke up four hours later, unable to focus on anything but the burning realisation that his friends were going to leave. He’d seen Nico and Will basically everyone day for over a year and a half, and although it hadn’t been as long with the others, he was comfortable with them, had told them things he’d only told Hermione and Ron, had trusted them enough to cry around them.
He was gonna miss them. He was going to miss Nico chiding him about everything, and swearing in every language he could think of, and kissing his cheek and temple, and Will hugging him constantly and checking his was okay and mediating between him and the world, and he was going to miss Annabeth talking him through his problems, and sharing hers so he could understand that he wasn’t alone, and Piper teasing him endlessly, but being the first to defend him if someone else said anything, and he was going to miss Percy teaching him ridiculous handshakes, and cheering him up no matter how deep he’d dragged himself, and Jason, who’d gone from threatening him whilst sparks showered off him to cuddling him on a sofa like they were brothers.
For a terrible, absolutely awful moment, he wished something horrible would happen so they’d have to stay.
Nothing happened, obviously, but for a moment, he’d wished it would.
They dragged it out, to give them credit. They didn’t leave for another three days, but those three days were busy, filled with Annabeth and Piper debating with Hecate, who’d appeared to bring them home only hours after the last horcrux was killed.
They were, as Harry understood it, campaigning for some method of transport, so that the wizards could cross time and space to visit them.
Eventually, Percy was called in to convince Hecate. From what Harry heard, ears pressed against the door, Percy’s argument was basically, we saved your fucking ass in the war, so fuck you and let us have our kids.
It filled Harry with a weird fuzzy sort of warmth, and he relaxed. It was going to be fine. Of course it was going to be fine. They’d get a way to cross time and space, and they could visit, and eventually, they’d be of an age where it wouldn’t be weird for them to be friends in real time.
Draco smiled up at him from where he was sat on the floor. “You know,” he grinned evilly. “Once they go, you and Ron are gonna have to pass potions without papá, right?”
Fuck.
“Oh my gods.” Harry swivelled to look at Ron, who’d evidently heard, because his face was about as panic stricken as he imagined his own was. “We’re gonna fail.”
Ron nodded quickly. “Oh yeah. Big time.”
Ginny looked between them, unimpressed. “You two are dating the smartest witch and wizard in your year?” She questioned. “The fuck are you worrying about?”
Harry shook his head pityingly. “Oh, Ginny, you don’t understand. You’ve never been taken from failing to top of the class by the spirit of an Italian matriarch possessing a twenty year old guy shoved into a fifteen year old’s body. It’s just irreplaceable.”
“Exactly.” Ron agreed. “As bossy as an Italian matriarch, as patient as the twenty year old dad to a ferret-“ Draco scowled at him. “- and the judging expression of a fifteen year old. I’m sorry, but ‘Mione and Draco, as talented as they are, still couldn’t recreate that.”
——
Eventually Piper, Percy, Annabeth, and Hecate emerged, the latter scowling, but holding a velvet bag. “Young wizards,” she began, voice as authoritative as the last time Harry had met her. “In this bag is eight stones, one for each of you. Whenever you wish to depart from this time and place, to visit camp half blood in the demigod’s time, you must simply conjure sunlight in its presence. Yes, son of Zeus, there is one for you, so you may travel between your worlds without my daughter.”
Draco merely sniffed. “Actually it’s grandson of Hades and Persephone and Apollo now, if you insist on addressing me by my relationship to gods.”
Harry could’ve sworn Nico and Percy were ready to pass out with how proud of him they looked.
“Very well.” Hecate replied, although it looked like it cost her something to say. “The other wizards will lose their memory of demigods, as the Mist does its work, but the seven of you have been blessed, so you will remain aware. You cannot speak of their existence to anybody, although they will remember the exchange students. Understand?”
They all mumbled their agreement, and she handed out purple stones with sparks of green running through them, then stepped back and vanished.
Piper grinned at them. “So we’re all packed..do you wanna take us home?”
——
That’s how Harry ended up stood on Half Blood Hill for the second time since meeting the demigods, with a crowd of adults stood around waiting. This time, instead of Jason glomming onto Nico, or Piper and Will engaging in a dramatic handshake, Leo threw himself at Nico and Jason, who barely caught him, triggering the rest to start greeting them. Harry was dragged into a hug by Hazel, then toted around until he’d been clapped on the shoulder so many times he thought he’d bruise.
Leo had obviously caught sight of Jason’s ring, because he absolutely screamed. “Sparky’s engaged!”
Jason laughed and hugged him again tightly. “So what’d’ya day, hotman? Gonna be my joint best man?”
“Joint?” Leo turned to Nico. “I suppose we can share. We’re gonna embarrass the fuck outta him, right?”
Nico scoffed. “Of course. I was thinking a video slide show with all his favourite early 2000s songs, from this playlist I’ve had Reyna specifically compile?” The pair of them huddled off, whispering and occasionally cheering and high giving.
Ginny, Luna, Hermione, Reyna, Thalia, Annabeth, Piper, and Hazel kept jumping up and down and screaming, so Harry took that as his cue to find Jason and Will, seeing as Percy was wrapped up in conversation with a satyr that Harry was pretty sure was called Grover, and Frank, and Ron, Dean, Seamus, and Draco were busy chatting to a set of boys that he remembered to be the Stolls and Cecil.
The pair grinned at him when he finally made it through the crowd. “I shoulda known we’d get swamped.” Jason ruffled his hair apologetically.
He shrugged and smiled. “It’s nice. I remember a lot of them, so it’s good to see them.”
Will hummed softly. “Do you wanna run to the dining pavilion and grab the campfire marshmallows?”
Jason gasped, then lit up. “Oh my gods we have to.”
Harry grinned. “We should take the chocolate too. For the s’mores.”
——
Hera was slightly less terrifying than Persephone and Maria, but much scarier than Hades, Harry decided. He’d made the decision to meet the goddess at the May Underworld dinner, mainly because he wanted to see everybody again, not just Jason and one of his fiancés.
Nico had insisted that they dress up less for that one, according to Draco, he’d spent the whole of April convincing Persephone that everyone there was family, they did not need to dress up like they were going to the Oscars just to have dinner together. Somehow from there, it evolved into a kind of pyjama party. Harry didn’t really know the details, but he was stood in the Dinner Hall there, in joggers and a Weasley jumper, clinging to Draco, who was similarly kitted out.
Nico spotted them first. “Piccolino!”
Draco lit up. “Papá!”
Nico grabbed Will’s hand and dragged him over. The pair were wearing shorts and tank tops, Harry had no idea how they weren’t completely freezing. Nico reeled him in for a hug and kissed his forehead, before doing the same to Draco whilst Will switched to him.
“How are you two doing?” Nico asked once they’d moved back a bit.
“Still passing your classes?” Will grinned.
Jason popped up behind them. “Not causing trouble, I hope?”
“Jay!” Draco whirled round and hugged him, Harry followed suit, and was quickly drawn in for hugs and the like with Percy, Annabeth, and Piper as well.
Seamus and Dean appeared after a while, chatting with Thanatos and Triton. Harry hadn’t really thought about Seamus’ apprenticeship, but if the way he and Thanatos were roughhousing as they walked over was any indicator, it was probably going well.
Everything was fine until Hera arrived. The twelve of them chatted for a while, then got drawn into conversations with other deities there, at one point Harry received hugs and kisses from Persephone, Maria, Hades, and, he was pretty sure, Nyx. Jason, Percy, Annabeth, and Piper were kind of the centre of attention, What with the engagement, which made it much easier to relax than last time, even if the Lord the Dead in silk pyjamas with condemned souls woven into it was fully scarring.
Then Hera arrived, all big smiles and open arms. She did actually seem genuinely nice, and from the hugs she gave the foursome, Harry assumed they were currently getting along alright. She didn’t outright threaten Harry either, or smile so frigidly that every atom in his body told him to run. Instead she swept him up in a graceful hug and kissed his cheek. “Lovely to meet you, darling. You must be Harry? Draco’s boyfriend?”
“Uh, um. Yes. Yeah. Harry. You must be Hera?”
“That’s me.” She led him over to a seat not nearly close enough to Nico or Jason or Annabeth for comfort. “Now don’t worry, dear.” She chided upon noticing his panicked glances. “I’m not going to torture you. I just wanted to ask you a few questions, make sure you’re treating Draco alright. Is that okay?”
“Oh. Erm. Yeah, I guess.”
“Excellent.” She smiled at him fondly. “How did you get together? None of the others have told me, and the suspense is killing me.”
Oh.
He laughed. “Well basically, it all started six years ago, when we met in this clothes shop in Diagon Alley..”