Disclaimer: I am not JK Rowling or Rick Riordan, therefore I own none of the characters in this story, only the plot, well some of it...
Chapter 1 - Solangelo meets Dumbledore
From the moment Nico di Angelo had met the old wizard, he knew something was amiss and it took only a few seconds before he knew just what that was. The old man was slowly dying, though there was nothing natural about that. He had been cursed as it seems, and the curse is draining him off life. Nico would give him about a year until he will pass away, give or take a few months.
"You're dying," stated the boy, clad in mostly black, without any thought. Yes, Will had given him the talk, that people don't want to talk about that stuff, but Nico had been so used to dead people, that interacting with living ones is still a constant battle of what's appropriate and what isn't. Though unlike many mortals, the old man doesn't look surprised, he even managed a laugh.
"You must be the son of Hades then?" He asked instead, bright blue eyes shining from behind the half moon glasses. He seems like your everyday grandfather, from the looks alone, though Nico would have no experience with that, seeing as his own grandfather tried to destroy the world, when the boy was only thirteen years old.
"Sorry, we had a talk about that more than once, but it seems like a certain someone just has to blurt stuff like that into everybody's face." Will Solace butted into the conversation looking at Nico in an exasperated manner, before smiling at the old man, that had greeted them by the doors of the ginormous castle, that will be their home for the year to come.
"My name is Will Solace, son of Apollo and this is my ever so charming boyfriend, Nico di Angelo." Nico scowled at the blonde boy, but Will ignored that look completely, looking up at the old man with curiosity. He's way too eager to get to know this whole new world, whereas Nico was more than pessimistic about that. Last time he stumbled about a secret society, he'd been locked in a jar for a whole week… That doesn't seem to work out well for him.
But it's not like he had a choice. A month into the summer holiday, in the middle of July, both boys had been summoned to the big house and given a special quest, more like a once in a lifetime quest and Will, who had never been on a quest before, was very eager to get started on this one.
Apparently over a thousand years ago, there was this small portion of Hecate's worshippers who have been blessed with certain talents and powers from the goddess. Magic, as they call it. And over the centuries they grew in population and power, creating their own little society right next to the mortal world, just like the demigods had. And every so often, a bunch of demigods are selected as ambassadors and therefore sent to the wizarding school in Britain, the oldest of its kind that teaches in English.
"Oh, I know, that I am about to die, Mr Solace, just as Mr di Angelo has stated, therefore I see no need for any apologies." Nico raised an eyebrow, before shrugging it off. It's not unusual to meet old folk that is ready to accept Thanatos. "I am Professor Albus Dumbledore the headmaster of this school and I think we have some more things to talk about before the rest of the student body will arrive in the evening, so let's move this conversation into my office, shall we?" Nico and Will shared a look and nodded, before they followed Professor Dumbledore inside the castle.
The entrance hall was huge, but Nico was sure that his father's palace in the Underworld had an even bigger one, though this one is friendlier and lighter. They follow the headmaster up the grand staircase and are met with a rather peculiar sight. Even for an experienced demigod like Nico who had seen thing not many had before him. There were more than a hundred staircases, heading in all directions and moving, while the paintings in the walls were talking and moving.
"So, this is magic?" Will mused and stared at the paintings and stairs.
"Actually, this is very simple magic, as you will soon discover, Mr Solace." Dumbledore said, smiling at the boys over his shoulder as he led them up another staircase and down a corridor with tall windows on one side, overlooking the forest surrounding half of the castle. They stopped as they came face to face with a giant stone gargoyle.
"Toffee Eclairs," said Dumbledore and with a low rumble, the statue started to turn and rise. Steps appear, spiraling upwards. Dumbledore stepped onto one of the steps, and after sharing another glance, Nico and Will did the same. After all, they are demigods and that was not the most unusual thing that ever happened to them.
Professor Dumbledore's office was filled with peculiar machines and hundreds of books, more than the shelves along the walls could even hold, thus they were also scattered across the floor, stacked into heights, that would make Nico's cousin Thalia dizzy.
"Take a seat, while I get everything you will need to fit in here at Hogwarts." The old man said, before he hurried up the stairs on one side of the room and disappearing from their view.
"Is that them?" One of the paintings high up on the wall muttered and peered down at the two demigods. "Last ones weren't as scrawny, were they?"
"Who?" Another painting asked.
"Them!" A voice from the side cried out. "Those special half-bloods…"
"Pah!" snorted another painting. "There's nothing special about any sort of half-bloods!"
"Black, you should have seen what the one in 1607 was capable of…" A woman recalled with a smile on her face. "It's nice to meet you lads!" She calls out to the demigods starring up at the paintings.
"And I fought talking skulls were weird…" Nico muttered before rolling his eyes at the paintings and turning to Will. "You know, we could still leave this place, go back to Camp, have a nice time… No responsibilities… no school…" Will smiled at his boyfriend.
"No way," Will grinned while shaking his head. Nico sighed.
"Thought so…" He slumped back into the chair and stared up at the ceiling. Will had no time to respond to that, because Dumbledore came back with two identical boxes in his hands.
"These are your wands," Dumbledore says to them before handing the boxes over. "They are exceptional and the last of their kind, so be careful."
"Will we be able to cast spells with them?" Will wants to know.
"Indeed," Dumbledore nods, before sitting down behind the desk. "Hecate herself had blessed them with her magic, that will change the power you demigods tend to have into magic. Only you two will be able to use them, for everybody else, these two will be simple sticks, therefore refrain yourself from giving them to anybody else."
"Understood," Nico says with a serious face. "Where do we stay? Chiron gave us this book that says that there are four different houses here, Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. How do we choose one for us?" Will looked at his boyfriend with surprise, Nico hadn't been thrilled about this quest, so Will thought that Nico hadn't even bothered to read the books, that Chiron had given them back in July, to get to know the history of this society. Dumbledore smiles before getting up and fetching an old hat from one of the shelves.
"You will not be able to choose your house, this hat here will choose for you," he explained and with that the hat awoke. He started to move and yawn.
"'s bit too early ain't it?" The hat muttered. "Haven't even finished the song yet…"
"There's no need for that just yet," Dumbledore said with a chuckle. "But we have some exchange students this year and they needed to be sorted before the feast." He turned back at the boys, who weren't that surprised by a talking hat, after all, they've met talking statures and swords before. But those are different stories. "Let's start with Mr di Angelo." Nico shrugged and put the hat on top of his head, it was only slightly bigger and covered half of his eyes.
Oh… He jumped a little, because there was a voice inside his head, that didn't belong to himself or his demons. Oh my… The head sounded shocked. Nico understood that though, he didn't want to be looking inside his head as well. What is this… He could imagine, what the head had seen, pain, suffering, the loss of loved ones, Tartarus… All his hardships and troubles.
You're very determined and stubborn. That is true, Nico thought. You push yourself as far as you need to go to achieve your means and you have a way to get other people to do your bidding… Nico couldn't help but smirk at that statement, because in a way, the head was right. He did know how to manipulate people, though he tends to do that more with ghosts… They have to listen to him anyways.
You're also very loyal to those who are important to you. Nico would do anything to save his friends, as he had proved many times before, getting his father to take part in the battle of Manhattan or the one time, when he shadow-traveled across half of the globe, with the Athena Parthenos on his back, and Reyna and Hedge by his side. Oh, I know just the right house for you.
"Slytherin!" The hat called out loudly, before Dumbledore removed it, putting it onto wills face. Nico studied his boyfriend's facial expressions while waiting for the hat to say the house, but Will definitely took his time. Surprise was exchange with a heavy blush and then a determined expression, before he looked extremely smug about something. One minute passed, then another, then another.
"Gryffindor!" The had finally yelled out loud after almost four minutes. Dumbledore removes the hat and puts it back onto the shelve. Will and Nico glanced at each other. They had gotten different houses which means that they will be staying in different rooms… Great. Dumbledore pretended like he didn't see their looks and took out his wand instead waving it though thin air, before conjuring up two almost identical sets of school uniforms. Only difference being the colors of the ties and the insides of the robes. One was red, one was green.
"This uniform is mandatory; therefore, you need to wear it during the week for classes and meals. Spares will be brought to your rooms just like your bags will be, now, there is a room down the hall, where you can get changed and I believe that the first carriage will arrive soon." He smiled at them.
"I will show you the way down to the Great Hall once you've changed and leave your clothes there, the house-elves will bring them to your rooms," He added. The boys got up and grabbed a stack of clothes, before leaving the room.
"What's a house-elf?" Will muttered as soon as the door closed.
"No idea," Nico said shrugging, before starting to change out of his jeans and shirt attire into the uniform, he had no trouble with the tie, unlike Will who looked like he might want to strangle at one point. "Come here," Nico said softly, tugging on one end of the tie. Loosening it up, before tying the tie properly, just like his mother had shown him, all those many years ago.
"Why do you know how to bind a tie?" Will was surprised, here he was, he might know everything about his significant other, only to learn, that there is still a lot to discover. What other hidden talents did the son of Hades hide?
"Comes with being born in the roaring twenties, I guess…" Nico smirked at his boyfriend, before he noticed how close they are and the fact, that Will wasn't wearing pants. He started to blush, and Wills smile grew bigger. Nico stared at Wills lips and leaned in, they are alone after all, and who knows when they will get a chance like this again, tugging some more on the tie, only this time it was meant to get him closer.
"If you want a kiss, just say so…" Will murmured, before being shut up by Nico's lips. They didn't stop after one kiss and not after the second, or the third. Rough and hungry kisses were followed by soft and sweet ones, until Will managed to pry himself off his boyfriend after what felt like an eternity.
"Dumbledore's waiting for us…" Will said, breathing heavily. Nico nodded, his face flushed red. Minutes later they walked out of the room, back into the corridor only to see an amused headmaster watching them, winking and walking ahead without saying another word. Nico's blush was back in full bloom and Will's mouth fell open with surprise, as soon as they realize that the headmaster must know just exactly what had taken them so long...
I hope you liked it!