Thank you to the awesome people who reviewed! Thanks in particular to light sorceress, who gave me some useful tips! And to those who put me on alert, thank you! In return, I present this new chapter, named: The Disastrous Sorting. Enjoy!

"Headmaster," Thalia repeated, anger boiling. 'Do you mean that it was you that requested for us to be sent here in the first place?'

The three of them were in Professor Dumbledore's (though Thalia preferred to think of him as Dumb-le-bore, also Dumby) office. Instruments were whirring on a desk, which Percy was examining while Nico just stood there doing nothing but shuffling from one foot to another. Quite a feat for an ADHD kid. And there was a phoenix. It was small, burned and black. Who knew that a phoenix could be as ugly as that?

Sensing the direction of Thalia's gaze, Dumby said,' Ah, yes, that's Fawkes. Usually he looks quite majestic, you know, but today he is just reborn and… looks none for the better.'

'Explain yourself, no changing topics.'

Dumby leaned back, folded his hands together and started to talk.

'Hogwarts had four great founders. They were Godric Gryffindor, Salazar Slytherin, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Helga Hufflepuff. They-'he was cut off by Thalia.

'We asked why you got us here, not the history of the school.'

'It is essential that you know this, Ms. Grace.'

Thalia was so shocked that she stuttered,' But- I didn't tell you- how did you know?'

'Simple. Occlumency, commonly known as mind reading.' Seeing the trio's shocked faces, he smiled. 'Don't worry. I haven't been snooping in your …ah, private memories.'

'They had their own houses. All was peaceful, until that doomed day. They had a fight, Gryffindor versus Slytherin, Hufflepuff versus Ravenclaw. Shortly after that, Slytherin left and had a family out there.' Dumby looked at them to make sure they understood then switched to another completely different topic, but Thalia didn't bother to argue.

'There was a wizard named Tom Riddle, and he was abandoned by his father. Shortly after his birth, his mother died.'

The three of them looked up, shocked. This dark lord had even worse luck than them, which was saying a lot.

'He was brought up in an orphanage. When he learned that he had magic, he was full of joy. He had the ability to speak to snakes, which is highly unusual. He was placed in Slytherin. Charming- '

Thalia snorted.

'-and clever, he soon earned the teachers' favors. After he left Hogwarts, he underwent changes no one wanted to see, killed his uncle, father and grandparents. Thus, he became the Lord Voldermort that everyone feared. According to what I believe, he created seven Hocruxes, and I know six, maybe all, of them. I am suspecting Hufflepuff's cup, Ravenclaw's diadem, his snake Nagini, Slytherin's locket, his diary, his grandfather's ring.'

There was a silence while Thalia did the math.

'What's the last one?'

Dumby obviously had dreaded this question.

'Harry Potter,' he said slowly.' The Boy Who Lived.'

Sure, Nico's mind was reeling with a hundred questions, but the headmaster made it clear-the person Nico was supposed to be working with was supposed to be dead. But now, sitting on an old stool with a patched hat on his head with a whole school of students watching, he found it very hard to worry about it. For now.

They had decided on a cover story-they would be staying at Hogwarts as special guests the headmaster had invited and to blend in they would take classes like normal students. In order to do that, they must be Sorted. That's the reason Nico is sitting here like an idiot now.

All of a sudden, a voice spoke, making him leap off the stool. Hello, boy. Let's see, it hasn't been a full year yet, so why are you here? The hat paused, making Nico wince as part of his memories were read. Ah…I see… a demigod. On a quest from Hades. Oh, and you can sit down now. Nico realized that he was still standing and sat back onto the stool.

Hmmm…Interesting case. Never met one like you before. You are cunning, so you could be in Slytherin, but you are quite loyal too, so Hufflepuff could suit you as well. Not to mention that you are quite clever and would have became the top in school if not for your dyslexia. And you are incredibly brave. Sorry but I have to look inside your memories. Nico's eyes widened as images flashed before him.

The Titan War… Seeing Silena in the Underworld… Desperately trying to convince his father…Watching Percy bathe in the Styx, fearful that he might lose his only friend…

The images flashed past, making Nico remember all those times. He resisted the urge to cry when the hat looked through his memories of his dreams about Bianca, screaming at Percy…

It came to an abrupt stop at the casino. At that point, Nico was barely holding himself together.

Sorry, boy. The hat said regretfully. I didn't mean to bring up all that. Just that it was necessary. Good luck on your quest. Can I tell Dumbledore this? I mean, he will try to get you better treatment from your father when the quest ends.

Yes, Nico responded. Just don't tell him too soon.

Thank you. For fighting in a war, personal lose yet surviving, I declare for you to be in GRYFFINDOR!

Nico yanked off the hat shakily and put it down onto the stool. Percy and Thalia were watching him with concerned expressions. Doing his best to block the tears, he stumbled over to the Gryffindor table and buried his head in his hands, not caring even if Macdonald's appeared on his plate.

'Grace, Thalia.' Professor McGonagall's voice echoed in the hall. Thalia was so worried about what the hat had done to Nico that I didn't even bother to chide McGonagall for using my last name.

The whole Hall seemed to be holding it's breath, the only noises made by two red-headed guys attempting to start a conversation with a very irritated Nico di Angelo. From the look on his face, he did not want to be interrupted, but the two guys did not seem to know that.

Thalia put on the hat and waited with bated breath.

Hello. Another one!? Oh right. I see that you are brave, not a doubt about that. Loyal too. And just a streak of cunning. But you don't have outstanding intelligence. No offence, though. Why is it so hard to decide? Sorry but I have to go through your memories too, just like the other boy. I hope that you don't end up like him too. I hate tragic pasts. Especially for teenagers. They are too young to suffer so much.

Images were pulled up from the depths of her mind. Her baby brother Jason eating a stapler… She was so scared then. At the house where she lost him… Thalia blinked back tears. The day her mother died… Thalia wasn't going to admit it, but she did love her mother. Meeting Luke and Annabeth… Just thinking about Luke made her wince. Getting turned into a tree… One word: Ouch. Getting revived…

Finally, the hat said, I have seen enough to decide that you should be in GRYFFINDOR! Good luck, my lady. I knew Zeus once too. And I'm sorry that I made you break down. The hat added before she whipped it off her head. Now she understood why Nico looked even paler than before when he took the hat off.

Going over to the Gryffindor table, she sat down and began to wolf down food even though she wasn't hungry. She did it to hide the fact that she was about to cry.

'Jackson, Perseus.'

Percy stepped forward nervously. Now he was on the receiving end of what the hat had done to Nico and Thalia. Even though the girl did her best to hide her emotions, Percy still saw through it. He was definitely not going to enjoy this.

Putting on the hat, he still guessed blindly what had happened. Did the hat have spiders in it? No, not the answer. Thalia would be freaked out but Nico would just take it off, walk up to the professor and stuff the hat into her hands, wait for her to figure it out, and a scream.

If you don't mind, I don't have spiders in me. Percy leapt ten feet into the air. A talking hat! Dumby should have told him! He loved Thalia's nickname for the headmaster.

Dumbledore's a great person, not Dumby. Mind reading too! What in Tartarus?

I see that you are the third, last and least bright of all. And don't retort. I know you are getting hungry so let's not waste any time. Brave, loyal. Ravenclaw is definitely out. Slytherin too. So… up to your memories to decide Gryffindor or Hufflepuff then. Without waiting for Percy to give a retort, the hat plunged into his memories.

Getting claimed…Knowing Tyson… Bearing Atlas's burden…The Titan War…

Percy closed his eyes as he remembered Beckendorf, Silena, Luke, and Ethan Nakamura…

GRYFFINDOR! The hat screamed to the hall.

Throwing the hat off, Percy made his way to the table when he noticed Nico slipping out, and Thalia looking ready to fry the hat, now that she couldn't mask what she felt now (She had finished all the food).

Later, in the common room.

After everyone had gone to bed, Harry discussed the guests with Hermione.

'So… What did you think? ' he asked in hushed tones.

Hermione shrugged.' We will know. They will be sharing lessons with us through the year. By the way, talk to Ron. He is your friend, after all.'

'Was.'

'Fine. I know you will regret it. I hate being stuck between you two, you know?'

Harry decided not to point out that Hermione had done the same thing with Ron in their third year.

Hermione resumed what she had been saying,' You know that you want to make peace. The three of us know. So why do you-' She was cut off when the portrait swung open.

Two of the new guests climbed in. Eager to know more about them, the two of them shrank into the shadows.

One of them was saying,' Nico, that hat pulled your memories of Bianca out, right?'

The other remained silent.

'Nicky-'

'Don't call me Nicky!'

'Fine. Just spit it out, won't you?'

'Fine! It dragged up the day when you told me she was dead! And my nightmares! And when mom died! And that stupid casino! And when I took you to dad and he locked you up! And when you left me with him! And…' the boy broke down into sobs.

The other boy-was his name Percy?-said,' Come on, Nicky. I thought your dad told you not to cry?'

'Don't-talk-about-him. And don't call me Nicky !'

Percy smiled. Nico was back to normal. For now. How he hated those words.

I know that I am a bit harsh on Percy, but, hey, his nickname isn't Seaweed Brain for nothing, is it?