Second Draft

The street was dark, the dim lamps that lined the sidewalk hardly breaking through nights thick shadows. In places the darkness was so dense that it seemed to be solid and tangible. A row of town homes stood at attention depressingly, a park was guarded by poorly manicured oaks, and a black river flowed between them, a division line and each side was waiting for the other to cross. A cat howled from somewhere in the darkness and the wind brushed against the leaves making them shift uneasily. The town homes seemed to be holding their breath while the oaks creaked and groaned as if they were trying to steady a racing heart. A man stared out the window of his home for once feeling no desire to escape outside. For once the outside was far less appealing than the inside of his dreary mansion. He rested his hands on the window sill wondering at the strange atmosphere. It was like the world had stopped and was waiting. What was it that it was waiting for?

Nico blinked rapidly as he stepped out of the darkness to find himself in a place that was only slightly brighter than the shadows of which he had just walked out of. Slowly he turned around on his heel, his hand on the pommel of his sword, his eyes darting from shadow to shadow searching for anything unusual. This was most certainly not where he had been trying to go. He frowned thinking perhaps he had made some mistake, but he couldn't quite convince himself of it. He rarely got lost anymore when he shadow traveled, and even then it was typically when he was trying to travel long distance. No, however he ended up here it was not of his doing, someone wanted him here. The question was who?

"Sorry to have interfered with your shadow traveling."

Nico wasted no time drawing his sword and turning to face his possible attacker. He was only slightly surprised to see someone he knew and was familiar with rather than an enemy. He mentally scowled the enemy bit was debatable actually. They were more or less acquaintances who had called a truce. Black wavy hair fell down the woman's back in a messy braid to end a the waist. Black jeans and black huntress boots were paired with a dark amethyst shirt and a black jacket. All of it was fitted to show off the woman's figure in the best way. Violet eyes accented by thick black eyeliner and silver and purple eye shadow stared out of a pale and angular face. The woman stood tall and regally, confident in her presence. Nico involuntarily shivered. Of all the gods and goddesses he had to draw Her attention.

"Lady Hecate," Nico said bowing in respect while quickly lowering his sword. He had spoken to her only twice when he was visiting his father and she had been there playing attendant to Persephone, his step-mother, and seeing to her Underworld duties. They had discussed in great depth the art of necromancy and the handling of malignant ghosts, but while Nico had found the subjects interesting he always found it hard to forget that she was perhaps one of the most, if not the most, powerful of the goddesses. Her sphere of influence was vast and Nico tried not to imagine what she could do if she wanted to. He almost wished that Percy hadn't asked for forgivness for the gods and goddesses who had sided with the Titans, Hecate would have been stripped of her powers then, or at least most of them.

"I have a rather urgent problem that I need your help with," she began looking down at him with eyes that were like Athena's -cold, calculating. Nico straightened and returned his sword to its sheath at his hip ueasily. "Normally I wouldn't entrust a son of Hades with this, but your particular talents could be quite useful. From our brief conversations I have come to the conclusion that you are not like most of your elder siblings. Am I making a mistake in believing such a thing, Nico di Angelo?"

"I certainly don't think so, my lady," Nico responded respectfully mentally supressing the urge to defend himself against the stereotypical reaction people had in relation to his parentage. "I hope to never fallow that path."

Hecate smirked. "I doubt it's avoidable, but I hope yours is more heroic."

"Thank you," he replied fighting back a glare.

"As you know my children are not the only one's capable of using magic," Hecate commenced. Nico nodded that he understood. He had met several witches and wizards during his wanderings in the underworld. He had found them fascinating. "My children attend Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter, but my legacies, my children's descendants, live in a world in which they created."

Nico frowned, "You mean like another dimension?"

Hecate chuckled, "The only one with the power to create dimensions is Chaos. No, it works much like our mythical world. Their communities are hidden away by magic so that only those of the wizarding realm can see it. Much like Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter, though the magic of my descendants isn't as powerful. A demigod could see their world very easily. Unlike demigods however, they live almost exclusively in their world and are very ignorant and naïve of their muggle peers."

"Muggle?" Nico asked confused.

"Non-magic mortal," she explained.

Nico looked beffuddled, "Am I a muggle?"

"No," Hecate smiled. "Have you ever heard of Tom Marvolo Riddle?"

Nico's expression hardened. "Yes," He clipped out.

Hecate chuckled, "Yes Hades is very vocal about those he feels have slighted of insulted him in some way. I'm sure Thantos has spoken of him as well."

"No one appreciates being mocked," Nico scowled.

"No, no they don't," Hecate agreed a sly smile on her face. She waved her hand in the air as if brushing away a thought. "Normally I wouldn't care, in fact normally I would find great amusement in someone who outsmarted my cousins. However, the man has gone to far!" Nico unconciously took a step back. Until now the Goddess had been more or less passive and easy going, but the anger flashing through her eyes was beautifully frightening. Her eyes seemed to glitter like an ameythst stone reflecting the moonlight with a silvery glint and her sculpted features seemed harden. Her face was fascinating in its twisted anger. Nico shivered as she glared down at him, the coldness that he sensed existed inside of her seemed to permeate the air around them. Nico felt the fear rise up inside him and his hand that rested upon his sword tightened its grip on the pommel. "Nobody, attacks my children and gets away with it!"

Nico bit his lip trying to tramp down his rising fear. Mortals for the most part went through life largely unnoticed by the gods, with the exception of their love interests. More often than not those interests are fleeting and sometimes quickly forgotten. The children of the gods were another matter entirely. The gods may not be the best parents in the world -most of them could learn a thing or two from those Parental Guide Books - and they were forbidden to aid their children in most ways, but that didn't stop them completely. The gods, horrible parents that they are, actually do care for their children, though they show it in some strange ways. The quickest way to attract the attention of a god or goddess - attack one of their children, however Nico would never suggest doing so - well maybe if it was one of the Aphrodite children - no not even then. If your really, really lucky, you'll walk away from the meeting cursed with something like 'you will never be able to grow a plant again', or 'you will suffer a bad hair day for the rest of your life'. If your unlucky you may end up like Arachne or Medusa, forever cursed to walk in shame for your arrogance. The most likely scenario, the most unlucky outcome, they send someone to kill you and you suffer in the fields of punishment. Sounds like Riddle drew option number three out of the magic hat and signed his own death warrant in blood. Oops.

"There is a prophecy predicting his death, but it's vague and contains too big a loop hole for me to willingly hang my hat, sit back, and wait," she scowled. Hecate's temper seemed to have abadated, but Nico wasn't certain he like her irritated either. "It's just as likely that the one who is supposed to kill him dies instead," she explained.

"If there is a prophecy then we aren't allowed to interfere," Nico pointed out cautiously.

Hecate nodded, "Normally that's the case. However a mortal by the name of Sybil Trelawney made the prophecy. A mortal prophecy is not as solid as one made through The Oracle," Hecate clarified. "The Oracle of Delphi speaks directly with the fates, but the mortals get their information second-hand so to speak. So the prophecy comes out watered down. As if it's written in sand rather than stone."

"Similar to what happens when you play telephone," Nico murmured. Hecate tilted her head to look at him quizzically. "Never mind."

"Anyway, because the prophecy was mortal made it can be manipulated. We are able to hedge our bets, choose our hero and our villain, "Hecate explained. "Harry Potter, the boy of the prophecy, is currently only fifteen years of age, but Tom has already returned to flesh and blood. Since Harry turned elven Tom has tried at least thrice to kill the boy. Now that he is very much alive we are not interested in waiting to see if he will succeed if given a fourth chance. That's where you come in. The Gods are officially giving Harry Potter a bodyguard. You will be attending Hogwarts School of Witch Craft and Wizardry. You need to befriend Harry, become one of those that he trusts and see to it that he doesn't do anything too stupid. This is his journey, his quest, and you know how they work. Your there purely to keep him alive until the time is right. You cannot interfere with his path."

"You don't want a bodyguard, you want me to be his guardian angel," Nico said with disgust.

Hecat smiled. "Who better than you Nico, for a guardian angel? Does your name not mean Angel of the Victorious People?"

Nico stared at the Goddess. No, he had not known that. He quickly swallowed back a flood of emotion and looked away into the darkness of the park. His mother, he knew, had been the one to chose his name. Did she know what 'Nico' meant? Something inside him, the remenants of a forgotten memory, told him that yes she had. Had she chosen the name Nico like Percy's mother had chosen the name Perseus? Had she named him in the hopes that his name would bring him luck, that he would be more than his heritage?

Hecate seemed to read his mind and spoke, "Many fear your father, because of his close connection with death. They forget that he is so much more than just the god of hell, but also the god of what people call heaven. He is the protector of the dead, defender of their last rights. There is so much good that exists inside your father, Nico, if you can only get past the pain that he cloaks himself in to see it. Your mother saw the good Nico. Its why he loved her, why he was able to let down the walls he built up. He was never as carefree as your uncle, but before when he first burst from Kronos's stomach, the bitterness was just a small seed, the anger barely more a passing emotion. Stop seeing yourself as the child of Hell Nico and try to look at yourself as the child of a god who once loved and has forgotten how. You can either walk the same path as your father and let all the hurt and pain eat at you until all that is seemingly left is bitter young man or you can push it aside, learn to forgive, and allow yourself to experience the beauty of life and love. Soon Nico you will have to make a choice."

Nico nodded, but his gaze was studying the cracks in the concrete. He wasn't willing to speak for fear that he would say more than he intended and he wasn't certain what that more would be, he doubted that it would be kind however.

Hecate was quiet for a moment but when she spoke again it to change the subject and Nico sighed in relief. The goddess explained the history of Harry Potter and the Golden Trio. She also explained that Tom Riddle had taken to calling himself Voldemort - a which point Nico gave her an odd look - and how his followers were called death-eaters - at this Nico laughed outright. No wonder Thanatos hated the guy.

"Will you help me, us?" She asked when she was finished.

Nico scoffed, "As if I have a choice. What I don't understand is why one of your children aren't taking care of this. Wouldn't Lou Ellen be a better choice?"

"I don't really trust my children to keep their tempers in check when they finally meet Tom," Hecate sighed. "My fault, I'm afraid. Most of my children are diagnosed with bipolar, though that isn't what is wrong with them. They are simply reflecting my status as a triple deity. The mood swings are horrendous," she scowled.

"Well then…" Nico muttered waiving his hand in the air in a motion that encouraged her to get on with the details of his quest.

"You start school on the first of September which is in two days," she explained. "Until then you'll be staying in the mansion across the street - don't bother looking, it's hidden by the mist, only I can see it - and you will be there with Harry Potter and a group called the Order of the Phoenix."

"What is the Order of the Phoenix?" Nico interrupted.

Hecate sighed irritably, "it's a group dedicated to opposing Lord Voldemort. Not all of the Wizarding world is convinced that he has returned and the Ministry of Magic is working overtime at keeping it that way by slandering both Dumbledore and Harry's name in the newspaper. The minister is more interested in the upcoming elections rather than believing a fifteen year old boy and a school headmaster no matter how powerful the man is. For Elysium's sake, there was a mass break-out at Azkaban Prison and not a single word of mention even entered the news paper."

Nico stared at the goddess in amusement. "Do they think that by ignoring Tom, he'll go away?"

"Certainly seems so, doesn't it?" she laughed.

There was a moment where they both pondered what had been said. "Is that everything?" Nico asked.

"Yes...NO. There is more," she said pulling out a letter and handing it to him. "Give this to Professor Dumbledore. He is aware of our existance and the letter explains what you are doing here. There should be enough proof in that letter for him to believe you. If he doesn't call me and I'll beat the memories back into his thick head," the Goddess growled.

"An ex?" Nico guessed.

She glared at him and Nico shrunk under the gaze. "If you feel that you must, you may tell Harry, Ron and Hermione of your situation, but only if you must. Otherwise, keep it to your self."

"I understand," Nico said weakly, still feeling the effects of her glare.

"Good, then it's time I took you inside," she said and suddenly reached out and grabbed him by the arm.

Across the street the man who had been gazing out the window warily backed away from it. Something about the whole exchange bothered him. They had both appeared out of nowhere and he was fairly certain that it hadn't been apparition he had seen. No, the shadows had seemed to become thicker just before they had arrived and then when they thinned out again there was a boy and a woman walking towards him. Were they death eaters? They had been dressed seemingly in all black. It couldn't be a coincidence that they had just appeared on this street of all streets, to talk for the better part of an hour. But they hadn't even looked toward the house his mind told him. He bit his lip. He would have to tell the others. Maybe they could make more since of it.