Hi, I'm back again! This chapter's a bit shorter than normal, I hope that it's too much of a disappointment.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed, favourited and followed. You guys are amazing, truly. You keep me writing (even if my updates are somewhat slow).

Replies to the reviews are at the bottom!

The following chapter has a small amount of bigoted, offensive language. I do not support the use of these term or the views they represent in any way.

"Did you discover anything, about the Mist, I mean?"

"Hmm? Oh, well I think Hogwarts wards interfere with it, 'cause they're both very similar – no muggles detect magic in the area, no mortals detect demigods… something like that. The Mist does affect them eventually, it just takes a bit of time; and if they are at all organized, or have a diary, then that's when everything breaks down."

"That's almost… disappointing."

Morgana laughed.

"Outside Hogwarts is fine; I think half the problem is the complexity of the wards, rather than any specific one. Only other really old magical structures have a similar effect, though I guess we'll never know for sure."

"They think you're an Earth elemental." She broke the silence again, her eyes dancing with mirth.

"I heard. I guess it'll do as an explanation, though I wouldn't be an Earth elemental …"

"I thought I told you to rest, not start plotting your next adventure." Will Solace interrupted, scowling. Despite Nico's protests, he shooed Hecate's daughter from the room.

Recovery was slow. Nico was hardly the best of patients and he knew he was pushing Will's patience to breaking point. His isolation was maddening – nobody would so much as bring him a paper! The only respite he had from total boredom were his visitors. Percy, Jason even Viktor had come to see him. The latter was very apologetic, guilty that their friendship had almost cost Nico his life. The Son of Hades firmly disabused him of that notion, and the Durmstrang student left looking a lot happier than when he entered. His school friends came once early on but were sternly rebuked for bringing him homework and hadn't come back.

When the Son of Apollo finally judged him ready to leave his care, nearly two weeks had passed since the second task. Nico hadn't had another nightmare – but he was more inclined to believe that was due to Solace putting something in his food, rather than any miracle cure by friendship.

Walking back into the Great Hall, Nico tried to ignore the fearful whispers and looks being shot at him. He was scowling so fiercely that many flinched as he walked past.

His frown grew when he saw Percy sitting with his Slytherin friends, and he stalked over, eyes flashing. Perhaps having sensed the drop in room temperature, the Son of Poseidon turned around. Raising an eyebrow, he shifted over to let him sit down, and slowly the usual hubbub of noise grew back to its normal volume.

"Haven't you done enough, Jackson?" Nico bit out.

Percy rolled his eyes and gave an exaggerated sigh.

"Are we still doing that Nico? It's a little old. Besides, you weren't exactly discreet when you raised an entire cliff next to the Black lake."

Nico felt his cheeks heat up.

"That wouldn't have been necessary if YOUR dad didn't completely overreact to a small intrusion that wasn't my fault to begin with!"

Percy snorted.

"Funny. I seem to recall your dad throwing me into the dungeons the last time I visited."

Nico winced mentally. He had betrayed Percy's trust for information about his mother, but his father had turned around and betrayed him in turn. He snorted, depreciatively.

"That's nothing; I have a standing order to kill you, if I can get away with it." Nico was fairly sure the order wasn't actually standing anymore – Hades had roared it in a fit of anger while his son had been trying to persuade him to join the Olympians for the battle of Manhattan. Since then – he'd seemed more apathetic towards the Son of Poseidon than anything else.

"Really? And here I thought Uncle Hades had warmed to me…" Percy mused.

Successfully distracted by their banter, Nico's face curved into a smile.

"You wish, Kelp Head."

Percy gave his cousin a sly grin.

"Well, I guess I wasn't too polite when I tried to bargain for my mom after he took her hostage…"

Nico, who had just taken a bite of toast, choked. Spraying crumbs and spittle all over the place, he hacked and coughed, trying to get rid of the irritants now clogging his windpipe.

Percy was roaring with laughter, and thumped Nico on back a couple of times, before giving up and just laughing until he couldn't breathe anymore.

Eyes watering, Nico's expression promised a long and painful death.

Percy seemed to sober up.

"Here. You should see this before lessons. Solace didn't want me to show you, but you can't go into lessons not knowing."

He handed Nico a copy of the Prophet, dated the day after the task.

"I try not to read that muck, Jack…son" Nico trailed off as he caught the headline. He felt his breath catch as the black characters jumped out of the page at him. It wasn't the dyslexia that made his stomach roll and his insides burn.

"HOGWARTS HOSTS NECROMANCER! DARK WIZARD ENSNARES KRUM!"

"SCENES OF TERROR AS EARTH, WATER, AND DEATH CONTROLLED BY FOURTH YEAR!"

"KRUM OUTED AS GAY, WITCHES DEMAND EXPLANATION!"

The photo wasn't good; it was a grainy image of him arms up with the lake bearing down on them. Unfortunately, someone had let his name slip, and he was trembling with impotent rage with each successive line.

"Unpleasant… intimidating… keeps fellow classmates in line with displays of dark magic and threats of bodily harm... homosexual… mentally unstable… unnatural… disgusting…"

The words blurred together on the page as he tried to keep his emotions in check. He felt sick, scared, angry…

"Hecate cabin have put a block on your 'owl mail'… unfortunately the British Magic Ministry are refusing to investigate any death threats until they're satisfied you're not a necromancer." Percy told him quietly.

Suddenly the whispers that had started earlier seemed a lot less fearful and a lot more vicious.

"What about Viktor?" Nico asked quietly.

"He's had to go speak to his agent, damage control... He understands it's not your fault, Nico, so don't you dare think that..."

Nico stood up abruptly.

Trying to maintain what dignity he could, he grabbed his bag and headed off to Potions, shoving past Malfoy on his way. His friends trailed behind him in his wake, muttering amongst themselves.

Morgana was waiting for them outside the classroom, and it seemed like the girl had finally come to a decision about something. Nico raised an eyebrow, but only got a slight headshake in return.

"Inside!" barked Professor Snape, temper short as usual. He spared an extra sneer for Nico as he passed.

"Mr di Angelo, I expect you have received the make-up work I gave to Mr Zabini? I expect to have it on my desk no later than Thursday." The look the potions professor gave him could have liquefied stone. Nico met his gaze squarely, until the other blinked and moved on.

Today we will be revising…"

Nico tuned him out after that. There really was no need to listen in this class. In fact, there was no need for Snape to actually be here at all – instructions were on the board, the safety briefing at the beginning of the lesson was recited verbatim from the book…

"Psst, di Angelo? Di Angelo!" Nico didn't react.

"Di Angelo! Heard you were a f… "

"Detention di Angelo, for talking." Snape intoned.

Nico slowly unclenched his fists, and tried to keep his hands from shaking too openly.

"Who would mistake that rubbish for a powerful dark wizard? Headcase, poufter… The Dark Lord would be horrified to find you'd been mistaken for a..."

"Oh why don't you just piss off you worthless sack of Hippogriff dung!" Nico looked at his partner, eyes wide.

"I've had enough of your politics, racism and corruption. I've had it. How about I show you what real Dark Magic can do? How about, I tell everyone just what your father, your professor and your dear aunt and uncles, family and friends did to me and my father fifteen years ago? How about justice being served for once?"

Snape stared at the girl, comprehension dawning.

"You are Morgana Ravenswood." He stated flatly. The rest of the class were now staring at the girl as if she were a ghost. Most of the Death Eater children were looking quite frightened. Nico didn't have a clue why they were so interested.

The daughter of Hecate, still breathing fast, nodded sharply. Seeing his confusion, she gave him a sardonic smile.

"My father was the US ambassador to Magical Britain. He refused to bow to Voldemort and was killed for his troubles. My mother protected me. When the murderers came for us both, they could only see him. When they set fire to the house, I didn't burn. When I walked through the streets in my nightgown, no shoes or socks, I didn't shiver. Every last one of their faces is burned into my memory and all of them walked. I don't care if they were caught later – apparently my father crucioed then AKed himself and then set fire to the house, all on his own."

Her voice was a rant of bitter, biting sarcasm.

"Yes, I am Morgana Ravenswood. You didn't really think you could murder my family and I'd lie down and take it? I am a Ravenswood and Hecate Mágos' daughter; I know exactly which men are to blame and which sons to curse. Oh Erinyes, I demand that they and all their descendants suffer forever the sins of their forefathers!

"I curse them with a half-life of suffering and torment ten times what they wrought upon me and mine. For Every day, Every minute, Every MOMENT that they still draw breath. So I have spoken. So Mote. IT. BE!"

Snape had gone deathly pale, and went paler by the second as the girl spoke, her voice gaining confidence and power with each word.

The blast of magic shattered all the jars of potions ingredients, causing a gruesome cascade of entrails and embalming juices to splatter onto the floor. The class scrambled out of the room, slipping on the wet and slimy flagstones, their deafening whispers were both worried and vicious, but mostly disbelieving. Nico placed a hand on Morgana's shoulder.

"You don't look older than sixteen." The daughter of Hecate laughed, wetly.

"You don't look seventy." She returned, sounding a little hysteric.

There was a short pause.

"How does it feel? To finally get revenge?" he asked quietly. The girl didn't reply for a long time, and Nico was already turning to leave when he caught her faint reply.

"Empty."

Nico skipped his next lesson, deciding that he needed to properly think about Hogwarts, his quest, and whether or not he should continue to act like any other student, when it was quite clear he was not.

He sat in his dorm, going through his carefully written notes.

It didn't help.

He had no idea where to start looking for the other Horcruxes. Hell, he wasn't even sure how many he had left to get. Sure, Potter's scar was probably one – but if it was all the same, he'd rather deal with that one last.

There had been that flicker of something in Diagon Alley.

He'd been shadow travelling, it was probably nothing.

He'd been back there before and felt nothing.

Styx, it was the only lead he had.

He willed the shadows to engulf him, and suddenly, the dorm was empty.

Nico reappeared in a side street, just off Knockturn Alley.

He meandered through the streets towards the towering marble structure that was Gringotts.

Passing the bank, he saw Narcissa Malfoy coming towards him, and he ducked into the nearest shop, Madam Malkins. While he'd never met Mrs Malfoy, Draco kept a family photo of her, his father and himself having afternoon tea with Fudge. If he was honest, hiding was a knee jerk reaction, and he realised with a grimace, that he'd forgotten he was wearing school robes, causing him to hide again behind a rack of dress robes.

Seeing Lady Malfoy enter Gringotts caused Nico to double take.

Blaise had put emphasis on how to deal with Goblins during the Etiquette lessons he'd given Nico. Why? Because, the one thing all the old purebloods were guaranteed to have, was their own vault. The family vault, trust funds for the children, personal vaults etc. From Malfoy's bragging, his vaults were extensive, and if Zabini was to be believed, all purebloods were interrelated.

But Riddle was a half-blood, an orphaned half-blood at that.

Wouldn't he want a better, more prestigious hiding place than a second rate vault guarded by 'filthy beasts'?

Hang on, even if Riddle didn't have a claim on an old pureblood vault… his followers did.

Nico followed Narcissa into the bank, flagged a teller and asked to make a withdrawal from his vault.

He didn't see Malfoy's mother inside, but it turned out he didn't need to.

The familiar gut twisting unease of a nearby Horcrux flared, before being muffled again.

If the goblin found the Son of Hades triumphant smirk to be disconcerting, he didn't say.

"Master Teller, what is the bank's policy on cursed items?" he asked suddenly when they got out of the cart, subtly testing his shadow manipulation abilities –the Horcrux was muffled after all, he couldn't be too careful.

"Treasure inside the vaults are the vault owner's business. Gringotts can inventory and manage investments and estates at the owners bequest, for a fee."

"There isn't a restriction on …"

"No." The goblin shot him a nasty look.

Nico thanked him, and hurried out of the bank.

He reappeared in his cabin and had to struggle out of his clothes, exhaustion hitting him like a brick to the face.

Perhaps he'd been a little hasty, jumping back into the swing of things.

Nico woke extremely early the next day, and to avoid a possible ambush from his Slytherin friends, he went down to breakfast. Odds were they wanted to grill him on the curse Morgana had cast, and he was keen to not have that conversation – particularly as Theo was likely to be affected. The daughter of Hecate hadn't been seen since the incident, which was probably a good thing, considering the number and type of people she had cursed. So far, none of her targets had reacted at all concerned about the curse, either scoffing whenever it was brought up, or threatening to hex anyone who questioned their family's honour.

Despite the early hour, the Prophet's morning headline was being flashed from every angle, as people shook it out to read, or spread it wide over the tables to be poured over by everyone close by.

"RAVENSWOOD DAUGHTER FOUND ALIVE: MORE WORK OF STUDENT NECROMANCER?"

"RAVENSWOOD SWEARS REVENGE FOR MURDER OF FATHER"

"PROMINENT BRITISH FAMILIES THREATENED"

"RAVENSWOOD, DELUSIONAL OR DARK?"

"So, when did Thalia get here?" Nico asked casually as his cousin sat down.

Percy looked pleased that Nico had initiated the conversation, and grinned.

"Well the lake is a bit bigger than the dragon arena, so we needed a couple of extra hands. Artemis gave her permission for her to lead the Hunt here so…" he waved his hand.

Nico wasn't impressed.

"The Hunt are now marshals for a wizard's tournament?"

"Officially, yeah."

"Unofficially?"

"Diana needs to be back in New York for the Spring Equinox, and extra security can only be a good thing. Someone or something might have infiltrated the castle; the camps need to be alert. Plus, Hecate's cabin needs a hand working on that age-line. Apparently it's still a sore spot, and they're looking to clear their name. Regain lost honour, or something."

Nico snorted.

Percy gave him a lopsided grin, before pushing his food away and standing up.

"Well, I've got newbies to train. Stop by anytime Nico, we haven't sparred in a while, and I think you almost beat me last time."

Nico felt reinvigorated now that he had a lead. Classes were a blur as he ran through plans and possibilities in his head.

Malfoy's vault, or one the family had access to.

Breaking into and out of Gringotts with no one the wiser.

He could shadow travel once inside he was fairly sure – but he'd need a distraction for the goblins.

Distraction… distraction…

"STOLL! WHAT. DID. YOU. DO?!"

Nico looked around, bemused. It was dinner now and he had been ignoring Malfoy in favour of imagining said boy's face when he robbed their vault.

"CALM DOWN?! My hair is PINK!" Jason roared. Sure enough, his golden blonde locks were now a brilliant shade of fuchsia.

A giggling Lou Ellen ran up, and touched his hair, examining it closely. She shot a couple of spells through the strands, with no obvious effect.

The girl frowned, and after a few more attempts she shrugged her shoulders and snapped her fingers.

Jason's hair turned coal black. A few more heated words; and he stormed up to the Slytherin table.

Daphne raised an eyebrow as Jason muscled in between Nico and Percy. Despite the differences in eye colour and skin tone, with all three sporting black hair, the family resemblance was startling. Their facial structures each boasted the same high cheekbones, classical aquiline noses and piercing eyes.

Percy was grinning at the Slytherins frowns and hostile looks, while Jason, who had calmed down only a little, was mimicking their haughty manner back at them. This only caused Nico to glower even more.

Rachel, who had wandered over to talk to Percy, took all this in and burst out laughing, drawing the attention of other tables.

She refused to explain, too busy trying to contain her giggles. Jason, temper frayed and surly at not knowing the joke, shocked her lightly.

Wiping tears out of her eyes, Rachel gulped in some needed oxygen.

"Ah… Let's just say - like fathers like sons." Still breaking into the occasional bout of laughter, Delphi's Oracle moved off.

Nico's expression darkened.

"Hey, you do look like your dad like that!" Percy grinned, causing Nico to place his head in his hands and groan.

"So, you want to break into an unbreakable bank, and get out, without anyone knowing, and you don't know which vault you need to get into?" Jason asked, deadpan.

Nico scowled, mulishly.

"I'm trying to sort out a list of Death Eaters – starting with those convicted, but then assuming that anyone cleared at their trial was actually guilty. I'll then check and see if they have a family connection to the Malfoy's, and we'll go from there." He explained again, patiently.

"Didn't you say that all purebloods were horribly inbred? For all you know, all of them could have a 'family connection'. " Percy pointed out, brows furrowed.

"Mrs Malfoy had access to the vault. So, most likely the owner is indisposed, and she's closest relative or…"

Thalia was still looking unconvinced.

"You still need to find out the vault numbers, once you compile that list."

"I don't think that's gonna be a big problem. The wizarding sense of security is poor. I mean, if you need to mail order something, you just ask the goblins to move the money – telling them the vault number and signing it."

"So, we interrupt people's mail? It would be simpler to tail Mrs Malfoy the next time she goes to the bank!"

Nico had the grace to look abashed.

"You hadn't thought of that?"

Nico's face said it all.

"Well, I'm sure if we ask Lou Ellen nicely, she'll get us a couple of invisibility amulets." Annabeth suggested.

Nico made to protest, but was overridden by Jason.

"No, we're coming with you on this one. No arguments."

Nico closed his mouth with a snap.

Nico was ambushed by most of Slytherin House as he walked alone in the corridor, head now whirling with plans on how to lure Mrs Malfoy back to Gringotts.

He had been making his way back to the dorm when something large crashed into the side of his head. He stumbled slightly and fell.

He woke up to a blinding headache, like the dull throb was beating a nail into the back of his skull.

"Undo the curse di Angelo!" a rough voice shouted. Nico winced at the loud noise.

"What?!" He managed, head ringing and utterly lost.

"The curse that Ravenswood bint set on us!" someone else sneered.

"Are you admitting your father was an accessory to murder?" Nico blurted out, incredulous.

There was a pause, and Nico felt a fist slam into his stomach.

"NO, she's obviously crazy."

Nico snorted, which turned into a cough. He shifted his head to one side and spat out some blood.

The floor rumbled and creaked.

"Can't use that here di Angelo!"

"Why not?" Nico sneered, blood dripping from his chin. "You should have ambushed me on a higher floor…"

"You think this is funny?! Huh?!" a hand curled around his throat. "Fag!?"

"The curse will only affect the guilty." Nico choked out.

"The curse affects the whole line! She's dooming us all!"

"The guilt of one taints …the whole by …association! Should have…thought…consequences"

He was punched again. This time, Nico was sure they broke a rib. Apparently strangling was getting boring, and he was shifted into a choke hold.

One of the flagstones cracked.

"Don't be stupid, guilt can't be inherited!"

"Greek! Mágos!" Nico bucked and wrestled as his lungs burned…

"Lift the spell!"

"Can't!"

"Lift the spell di Angelo, or you …argh!" Nico bit his hand, hard. He held on as his neck was released and despite the desperate tugging. There was blood in his mouth, and he bit down harder. The scream jumped an octave.

Suddenly the hand was gone. He was forced back against a wall. The shaking was now causing dust to fall from the ceiling, and some muffled screams could be heard from the floors above.

"You'll bring the castle down on top of us!" The unholy light that entered Nico's eyes made him look truly deranged. His mouth twisted slowly into a smirk, and the shaking subsided.

"Why would I bring down the castle? Your fate is sealed. Not even Morgana can grant you clemency. I hope to Hades the Furies make you all suffer. And I swear the day your oh-so-precious pure-blood finally freezes in your veins, I'll be there to drag you down to Hell. And you know what? I'll be smiling."

And with that, he swept out of the room.

So what did you think? Morgana's big secret... and Nico's got a new lead!

Let me know what you think, your feedback is invaluable.

Please please review!

Swiss

SassyWolf12, Guest: I know my update times are terrible. I can only hope the quality of the writing makes up for the wait. I do want to update quickly, but life just gets in the way, and a month goes by before I've written a single word.

Guest: Well, Percy's only really a secondary character – and he's got other responsibilities, so unfortunately there's going to be less of him.

That awesome girl 2: Thank you! I'm glad you like the series! I'm going to continue until the sixth book, probably. With the way it's going, all seven years are probably unnecessary...

potterheaddemigod, XxTheShadowAlchemistxX: Thank you! It's always lovely to hear how much you love the story, and the series. I hope the chapter lives up to expectations!

Booklover20011010: Not much Viktor, sorry. I hope you liked the chapter and weren't too disappointed.

SnowStem: thanks for the hug, I really needed it! Thank you for your lovely review, I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Honorary Nerd, The Bearer of Secrets: I'm so glad you liked the series! I'm still not sure if I'm going to have a pairing, I don't think I'd be able to pull off romance. I hope you haven't gone mad waiting, and that the chapter lived up to expectations!

RedPoople: Yeah, it does sound cool. I'm angling to keep things as plausible as possible, and since demigods are supposed to be secret… But since three can only keep a secret if two are dead, the demigod secret isn't going to be a secret for long.

CrackedCrow: That's the reason why I started writing with Nico as a main character, there's much more leeway for character development!

Blu: Thank you! While I'm still on the fence about pairings, Nico's crush is a major plot point for HoO so I felt I had to include it. I did wonder if I'd overdone it, so thanks for reassuring me!

Female whovian: Thanks! It's always nice to hear how much you like the series. I hope you like the chapter!

Tenebris Rosis: Thanks, humour's something that's difficult to get right. Hope you like the new chapter!

IVXLCDM: Thank you! I really liked the last chapter, most of it i had down for a while, it just took ages writing it into the story!

Guest: Thanks, glad you liked it!

HowlingRain: Thanks, the lake chapter is by far my favourite!

theGirlNightWing: I'm not sure I know what you're referring to. If you mean the times Percy's made brief appearances before now, I'd argue the cameos were so short, and nobody was interested in him when he did appear (not like Rachel's appearance in CoS), that he slipped through. Hope you like the chapter!

ProudCanadianGal101: Most of the campers avoid Nico (I think they'd still be intimidated by his death aura). Plus he was actively avoiding them too.

Mari Vargas: Thanks, the lake scene's been bouncing around in my head for a while! I do want to update more quickly, but life just gets in the way, and a month goes by before I've written a single word.

Daughter of Eos: yeah, the horcruxes got side tracked for a while, but there was a bit more development in this chapter. You've got the plan for the trio/Nico relationship development bang on. I haven't got anything set in stone for Voldemort's resurrection, but I do prefer Nico being there rather than absent.

Lukas Le Stelle, BetterNameToCome, Music-chan loves anime, GaleForce1, MarissaTodd: I'm still on the fence about pairings. Most of the interactions are pretty innocent or a result of undeclared/unrequited feelings. Given feedback, everyone is reading what they want to read… glad you liked the chapter though!

Kerowyn6: That just happened actually. I really didn't want her to be a caricature or a mary sue. So if you hate her… mission accomplished! hope you liked the chapter!

Matt: Since you weren't civil, I won't be either. Your comments are invalid, if you want to know why, read the story. Find better insults, or better yet, grow up.

Mysunangel, justarandomreader01, Rebecca, Nikki Macht, Charm0900, Bluelove22, Jess: Thank you! I hope you enjoyed the chapter!