Ch. 5

Nico

Nico was thankful that the ghosts haven't noticed him yet. He growled.

"They shouldn't be here! Filthy cheating, immortal white ectoplasmic things! If only father was here, they'd be gone in a snap." Nico ranted to himself, getting quick looks from Harry who lingered next to him with his small posse in tow.

Just his luck, Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, otherwise known around here as Nearly Headless Nick, locked eyes with the son of Hades. The ghost's translucent eyes bulged and flew towards him! Nick knelt in front of him.

"My king! Please, I do no harm! Don't make me leave the castle!"

Nico groaned as he rolled his eyes, looking like a mother talking to an adolescent child. Every student's eyes were on him, this was the last thing he wanted to deal with. Nico wanted to stay under the radar as much as possible here but even that was hard it seemed. "Fine, but you're on probation. Like every other ghost here. Make sure to tell EVERYONE. Get it? Got it? Good. I don't want anymore paper work or shit from my father than what I have right now. This little school stunt is already a setback for me."

"Y-yes sir." Nicholas stuttered and flew away.

People stared at Nico with bewilderment. He chuckled, darkly. His manic eyes squinted in the process. He decided there that if it he couldn't lay low, he was going to have fun messing with these stick-waving people, he just knew it.

"Don't you all have lives to get to. I need to do my paperwork!" Nico yelled at the staring people in the Hogwarts Castle Hallways. Nico was right about the paperwork, he had some his father forcefully made him do. Unfortunately, fortunately for Nico however, he 'accidentally forgot' about it under his bed back in the Hades cabin when he was dragged out the door. He wasn't going to shadow travel anytime soon to go back in grab it. One-Zero, Nico.

Nico raised the hood of the black zip-up sweatshirt he was wearing over the majority of the uniform over his head and walked towards the Great Hall once more.

"Excuse me sir," a fragile woman's voices asked behind, Nico turned around. He saw an old woman in emerald green dress robes with golden embroidery and a pointed hat, he grey hair slicked into a low bun. Her voice may have sounded fragile but just getting a look at her, Nico knew she was a woman with much power. She wasn't a woman he could slide pass per usual. "Would you happen to be Nico di Angelo?"

"Yes I would be, who are you?" Nico questioned. He narrowed his eyes at the woman, not fully trusting her. He hasn't trusted old ladies, ever since he met the Fates. That 'phobia' of old ladies seemed like it came out of one of those far fetched, cheesy RomComs. Nico hated RomComs.

"I'm Minerva McGonagall. Deputy Head Mistress, follow me, you must be sorted." She motioned her bony hands to follow her. Following Prof. McGonagall, Nico took in the castle.

Annabeth would love this, Nico thought. He smiled thinking of the scary and smart blonde. It would be nice to have a familiar face here. Sure, he had Draco, he trusted Draco enough, but not with his life no matter how good he was with doing stitches (and Nico had needed a lot), but it would be nice to have someone he trusts, or trusted to the best of his ability like Annabeth.

Nico has never really trusted anyone. It may look like he trusts someone, like Percy or Hazel, but in hindsight Nico is just a good actor. He is trying to get over his walls though and actually trust people, he just needed to find an explanation why he couldn't before he could progress.

Opening giant oak doors, McGonagall walked into a room with all of the student on four benches each bench with different color. A table with a bright red cloth down the middle was sectioned on the far right where he also saw the Weasleys and the trio, next was a blue table which split center with a yellow table, on the far left was a green table where he saw Draco giving him a thumbs up. He rolled his eyes at the platinum blonde and his goofy antics. Draco's friends looked at him with a weird expression, like they've never seen him act like this before. Seems like Nico wasn't the only good actor at this school.

"Griffindor, Racenclaw, Hufflepuff, Slytherin." Nico recalled walking down the isle between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. Everybody's eyes were on the boy dressed head to toe in black. Whispers could be heard and they were vamped up from ricocheting off the stone walls.

"Everybody!" A man with a white beard. Nico looked up to see Dumbledore with that twinkle in his eyes that Nico evidently found suspicious and annoying still. "This is Nico di Angelo! He is an exchange student from the Olympus School for the Magically Gifted. That's in America."

Dumbledore winked at the gothic boy which made him cringe. Voices erupted through the room.

"American?! I didn't know Hogwarts even accepted exchange student!"

"I heard Draco Malfoy is friends with him. I'm not talking to that one."

"What's with the black clothes?"

"Hey he is kinda cute." Nico winced more at that one than the others. He didn't like to be talked about, he already got it enough at camp. He technically was a hero but still not many people saw him as one due to his lineage. Plus the last thing he wanted talked about was his physical appearance.

Nico rolled his eyes at the students. You'd think a new kid wouldn't faze them as much as this. Hopefully they've seen more interesting things than him or they would ALL die in their up and coming war.

Mr. Twinkle Eyes (What Nico has recently dubbed old Professor Dumbledore) raised his wand to his neck and yelled, "QUIET!"

Everyone flinched at the sudden boom.

"Jeez he's louder than Hedge on a megaphone." Nico mumbled to himself as he shook his head to get the ringing of his ears.

Dumbledore regained posture and finished his monologue with a soft smile, like he was proud of himself in that action. "He will need to stay in a house. So, now we sort him."

McGonagall ushered up, not without tripping, the stairs and onto a stool. Nico felt like he was in Maine again at the Military School, the time when they made him wear a dunce hat. She brought an old, very very old, leather hat and shoved it on top of his head after shoving his hood off. For an old woman, McGonagall was a strong old woman.

'Ahhhh, another demigod. I think there are two others here', An unknown voice rang through his head.

Wait, is there a hat talking to me? Nico thought.

'No, I'm a little pixie named Nannie. Yes, I'm the sorting hat. You're a demigod, I thought Hecate would have told you this?'

Sassy hat. Great. Anyways I probably wasn't listening. Are there any other demigods here besides Draco and I?

'Draco and me is more proper in that sentence.'

I don't care. English isn't my first language anyways.

'Yup. But I'm not telling, now lets have a look through your memories!' The hat let out a high pitched squeal that sounded like it came from a piglet.

That was very attractive. Nico thought with more than enough sarcasm than he should have. And about the memories? Lets not.

'No I think I will.'

"Shit." Nico whispered out loud.

A maniacal laugh let out from the hats leathery lips. "Let's see." The hat started, "It seems I can't get through on my own, so I'm going to have to take you in with me."

A rush streamed through Nico's veins and he felt his soul embark from his stomach to his head in a fashion that felt like rushing water. The brain to be exact. The inside of his brain was a dark fuchsia color and as hard and hollow as a dead tree. It made Nico feel like he was stupid.

"So lets see," a voice from nowhere started. Nico knew it was the hats voice, it sounded as old and moldy as it did before he went inside the mind. It also had a smell if wine and cheap perfume (A/N: I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself, it's a really bad joke if you get the reference).

"Hmmmm, lets go to camp!" The hat laughed. The scene morphed of a dark sky in a forest with a cliff infront, many of the huntressess and wolves were standing guard around the fire and tents, Lady Artemis was there as well. He remembered then and there it was the first time he met Percy and the godly world outside of his Mythomagic cards he carried around with him. It was his most fond memory of his childhood.

To his left he saw Talia with Zoe arguing and Percy and a mini Nico. Nico cracked a small smile at his old, happy self. He knew he wouldn't be like that for long.

Young Nico eyes were filled with curiosity, "Are you really the son of Poseidon?"

"Well, yeah."

"Can you surf really well then?" Both old and new Nico asked at the same time. However, when past Nico asked it was out of genuine curiosity, but the new and older Nico sarcastically responded to mock his past self on the idiotic comment.

"Jeez, Nico. I've never really tried." 14-year-old Percy trailed off, clearly annoyed.

Other questions passed until the last one came, "Is Annabeth your girlfriend?" Nico would've put himself in a meat sac and thrown him to the wolves once he thought how annoying he was back then. He bet Percy thought the same thing.

A pit was in his stomach as he looked at the young Percy. The admiration for the son of Poseidon only started from here. If Nico asked that a year ago, his voice would have been venomous. He couldn't look at Annabeth, he couldn't help but hate her with being with Percy. He was just lucky he had moved on from his crush on Percy and found someone who truly cared for him in a way that he needed.

He reminded himself to message Will later tonight.

"Curious one, you are. You seem very loyal to this boy. Is he special to you? I bet he is. Or he was at least. I'm feeling a hint that there is a new person." The hat noted, irritating Nico. "Maybe your a Hufflepuff."

Nico snorted, "Fat chance, I heard you're song and what Hecate told me you just put the random kids that don't fit in the other houses in there. That's rude and mean, even Clarise wouldn't stand for that. You need to remind yourself what that house stands for. What the Hades is a Hufflepuff anyways?!"

"One of the founders last name. You have a point there, son. Let's leave now." The image changed to Nico in the giant glass bottle during the fight with Gaea.

"Brave, very brave." The hat commented, "I don't know anyone who would do this, not even Potter." The backdrop changed into a dark hole surrounded by Leo, Hazel, Piper, Frank, Jason, and himself.

Nico started feeling remorse, what happened before this scene played in his mind. Percy and Annabeth falling into Tartarus. This was one of the most heartwrenching memories, if it wasn't for him they wouldn't have ever fallen into that hellhole.

"Sad. Looking at you now from your pre-teenage self, its very sad." The hat mentioned, "Not your best hour, I see."

"Yeah." He sniffed trying to hold back a sneeze.

"You're abrave one you know that." It commented again.

"You said that already." Nico chimed.

"I am serious. You are a force to be reconned with not even a Death Eaters would mess if they've seen these. I'm afraid of you right now. I am a magic hat! I shouldn't be afraid, you couldn't kill me if you tried. I should know. Back in 1977-84, this group of boys tried to destroy me as an always failed prank for their whole carreer at Hogwarts."

Nico cracked a smile, "Really?" He added a chuckle at the end.

"I'm sensing a sister in some of these memories." The hat explained, "Is she a demigod too?"

Nico hesitated and fidgeted at the thought of Bianca, "We're not talking about her."

"Are you sure?" The hat asked, "Seemed like she was a huge part of your life. Is she fine?"

"Dead." Nico strained out. His hands gripped, causing his hand to bleed from pressure.

"Oh I'm sorry my boy. I'm only out today and I will be in Dumbledore's office if you need to talk. I've become somewhat a therapist to some students during the-"

"I'm not talking about this. She's gone and I'll never see her again. Let's go. I'm done here."

"Yea very well then, I think thats about enough too. I have made my mind up." Nico was entirelly gratefull for that.

Nico's vision blurred and he looked down.

Nico looked up again to see the Hogwarts staff and students looking at him.

"Gryffindor." The hat softly spoke and smiled.

"Shit." The son of Hades murmured.

"Cute boyfriend by the way." The hat stated.

"Double Shit."

Hey look at me doing another chapter after a year! I do really like this story but I had a crazy busy senior year so yeah... I genuinely want to finish this story because I really like what I had in planned so I will try and push forward! Thanks for the people who have still commented and liked it since I disappeared. Love y'all!

Keep in mind that my writing style has kind of changed. I'm trying to make it similar to the past chapters but idk how much will seep through.

Ava :)