"Hey Will." will turned around and his jaw dropped.
"Where've you been?! Everyone's looking for you, including Tyson! Looking for your scent you know…"
Nico raised an amused eyebrow. "I know that. My scent though...why scent?"
"Ugh...it's so exasperating to talk to you sometimes. Yes he's trying to find your scent. WHERE IN HADES NAME ARE YOU?!"
"Eh...somewhere called Hogwarts? I doubt you can find it though...it's some school for witches and wizards to learn magic and whatnot."
"And you didnt think to IM me?" Will looked genuinely hurt and for a split second, nico felt remorseful for not contacting him earlier. Emphasis on 'a split second'.
"I did. Why else would i be here?" Will just responded with an extremely adorable pout. (so says nico)
"Sunshine…"
"Don't you 'Sunshine' me nico. I was worried sick and Apollo's children don't even FALL sick. It's time you explained yourself."
Nico rolled his eyes. "I was about to when you interrupted me with that shit of yours. ANYWAY, my dad decided to shadow-travel me to Kyoto for breakfast then some 3-headed dogs decided to roam around the area and i couldnt just let them do that when there was a freaking McDonalds right in front of them, could i?" nico gave his best puppy eyes look, which was, contrary to popular belief, really effective most of the time. Most of the time.
"YOU MEAN YOU FREAKING SHADOW-TRAVELLED OUT OF THERE TO SAVE SOME NOT-ABOUT-TO-BE-WRECKED MCDONALDS? Dude, you faded, didnt you?" nico squirmed uncomfortably under the sudden attention.
"Only after the battle...and i was fine after that!" he protested weakly.
"Sure...totally. You didnt eat either did you?" nico looked down and didnt answer. It was pointless anyway.
"Did you...cut?" nico's head shot up at Will's accusing glare. "No i did not! Not yet at least…"
Before Will could reply, stumbling footsteps could be heard. "Who are you talking?" harry's muffled voice was heard.
"Nobody!" nico yelled hurriedly. He turned back to Will. "That's one of my dorm mates. I'd better go now...just know i'm safe alright? Also, remember that my father wanted to meet you on the following day, 'kay?"
Will huffed. "Fine. Ti amo nico."
Nico grinned back cheekily. "Ti amo troppo idiota."
"Hey-" before Will could protest, nico waved away the shimmering image.
"What are you doing outside Harry?"
Harry peered in and frowned. "What were you doing?"
"Talking to myself?" nico replied hesitantly. He tugged at his jacket sleeves again. Harry noticed this and asked if it was too short. He reached out to his arms and was about to help him make it longer when nico flinched back. He proceeded to hide his hands behind his back then shook his head.
Nico stepped past Harry and trudged back grimly to his bed. He switched off the torchlight but forgot about the hose.
"What were you doing with the hose?" harry asked with the hose in his left hand.
"I...none of you business harry." nico answered nonchalantly. "Why dont you just mind your own business and stop poking that head of yours into matters that dont concern you?"
Harry shrugged but otherwise, did not reply. "Just go to sleep harry and dont bother 'bout me."
"Sure. Goodnight then." harry waited for a reply, but got nothing.
He sighed and flopped onto his bed. It was just moments before sleep claimed him again. Unknown to harry, after he had fallen asleep, nico sat on his bed and prayed to his father for school supplies, robes and wand included. It seemed Hades was in a god mood for in the next instant, a bandwagon full of stuff appeared in front of him.
Nico grinned and thanked his dad. On top of the school supplies, his father had also supplied him with a bag for of wizarding currency. The bag magically replenished itself after every use so nico did not have to worry about his allowance. Nico stared at the supplies gratefully. He was finally going to go to a school like an almost normal boy, leading almost the life he always wished for, excluding the fact that it was a magical school and that his 'significant annoyance' was not there. Other than those two factors, this life was perfect, almost to good to be true. Almost.
With that thought, nico lay on his bed and opened a book. With a frown, he opened one of the books and began reading
_
The next day, nico sat up at the crack of dawn. This was normal since the second war, where his reflexes worked overtime to protect him. He sighed and went to the washroom to get changed. It was extremely irritating that Hogwarts required students to wear robes as their uniform and nico was most certainly NOT going to wear that filthy thing. Instead, he wore his usual attire-black pants, black shirt and, for a change, a black sweater on top. He walked over to harry's bed and sighed. He had messed up a possible friendship all because of a stupid IM. he hardened his dark eyes and went to pack his bag. In it, he stuffed a book on transfiguration, potions, defence against the dark arts (which nico found rather absurd considering that he was the dark arts), a quill and a wand. The wand felt odd in his hand. It was long and thin, unlike his stygian iron scythe. He sighed nostalgically. He had hidden his sword in his bag too as he suspected hogwarts would not be too pleased to have a new student with some sword. Trudging to the corner of the room, he closed his eyes as the shadows engulfed him.
_
Harry woke up. He felt a wisp of deathly aura around him and turned as he caught the last glimpse of Nico before he disappeared. He rubbed his eyes and strode over to the washroom to dress in his robes. After which, he went to ron's bedside and shook him awake.
"What's up harry?" ron yawned sleepily and shook his head. Now that he was not sleeping, he could feel the thickness of shadows around him. He raised his eyebrows in confusion.
"Is it just me or are the shadows actually...lightening?" harry shrugged and squinted at the shadows. Slowly but surely, the shadows were a shade lighter than before. Harry then nodded mutely. Ron looked around and found nico's bed already made. He looked questioningly at harry and harry nodded again.
"Yea he just left when i awoke." ron sat up and stretched. "Well, i guess we better get going then." ron got up and made his way to the washroom.
When harry and ron appeared at the gryffindor table, there was no one sitting next to him other than his persistent female fans. Nico looked pressured and picked at his food, only eating an occasional crumb that just-so-happened to fall on his lap. The girls batted their eyelashes and one boldly wrapped an arm around his waist but quickly drew back. Nico was surprised but his mouth twitched into what seemed almost like a smile. When the girl touched him, he had lowered his body temperature a few degrees, causing the girl to flinch when she touched him. Seeing harry and ron arrive,, he looked visibly less tense and relieved. The duo cleared their throat and nico's admirers huffed and left. The two then sat down and hermione slinked over to the seat in front of nico.
"Arent you going to eat anything?" ron looked at his plate and asked. Nico shook his head vehemently. "I cant finish so much...this is around the amount of food i eat per month!" ron gave harry a strange look on his face but harry didnt reply. What could he say to that? 'I do that too'? 'Yea i know but i dont care'? Both were lies and harry was one to know that lies, or 'lies', usually landed him in a pretty shitty situation so...he kept his mouth shut. He watched silently as nico pushed his plate to ron and left the table for the toilet.
"Dude, dont you think there's something odd about nico? The way he doesnt eat, his unhealthy obsession with the colour black? The way he radiates this death aura, his abilities, his...memories? You remember the way the hat screamed when it searched through his memories?" harry frowned. He had just been thinking the same thing. There was something definitely off with nico and he was determined to find out what that was.
_
Nico made his way to the classroom. It was dark and eerie-his kind of place. He made his way to a seat at the far end of the room and slumped into his chair, hiding in the shadows. He pulled the back of his sweater over his eyes and let his bag drop to the floor. Sparing the bag a glance, he watched as it slowly collapsed and he crossed his arms. Not long after, students of hogwarts began to stream in. All chatter ceased as the students looked warily at the new boy. Nico studied them cynically.
A boy walked in with his hands in his pockets and his eyes down. He had a head of shaggy dark brown hair that barely reached his eyebrows. His cheeks were puffy and his eyes were a dark colour. Next, a boy with light yellow hair walked in. Nico immediately recognised him as Draco Malfoy, the well-known, infamous, notorious bully. Nico snorted. This malfoy, to him, looked nothing more than a pale shrimp that decided that hair was some sort of thing that looked good when dyed yellow. Draco was nothing compared to the Earth mother; it would be easy to take him down. Nico turned his gaze to the trio that walked in-it was harry and his friends. Hermione had a lovely shade of blonde hair that perfectly complimented her almond brown eyes. He decided that if he was straight, hermione was definitely somebody he would go for, but he wasnt so...he wouldnt. Next to her was ron. Ron had this orange-ish blonde shade of hair and he had a permanent grin plastered on his face. He was tall for his age, which nico did not appreciate. He was already fifteen but people constantly mistook him for Will's twelve-year-old brother, which was, safe to say, annoying. Finally, there was harry. He was a splitting image of percy. Immediately after he thought that, he gagged. Was he the only person he could use to compare harry with? He shook his head-he had gotten over him already!
Suddenly, the class quietened and nico looked towards the door. There was a lady with a witch hat firmly planted on her head. Her mouth was set in a grim line and her eyes were huge. She looked at nico, then at a list in her hand. It seemed she couldnt find him in the records. Nico stood up and introduced himself as the new student. Her mouth formed a perfect 'o' shape and nodded.
"Good morning, class." her greeting was met with a few mutters of greeting back and some blank stares back. Nico reluctantly mumbled a soft greeting and the professor motioned for them to sit down.
"Class, today, we will be learning about…" nico pretty much zoned out after that. She was talking about some shit he didnt understand and didnt intend to understand. He fiddled with the quill in his hand and stared at the fog forming on the window. It was beautiful. He turned to the boy with the shaggy hair. He, too, didnt seem to be listening. He was looking down at his hands whispering to something nico couldnt quite see. He sat straighter in an attempt to see when he stopped in his tracks.
"It seems that nico has offered to read to us the chapter," nico turned to the professor and frowned. What chapter? What lesson was it anyway? He guessed transfiguration and took out the text. He squinted at the letters in the book. It was all illegible to him. The professor looked quizzically at him. Draco sneered.
"Cant you read? Or are you just too dumb to know what the professor means?" professor mcgonagall frowned but did not reply. Nico had on an innocent and calm expression, but on the inside, his blood was boiling.
"Well, actually yes i cant read because im dyslexic. I originally thought that i couldnt understand the reasons for your actions and why you said what you said, then it hit me." the class was so silent one could hear a pin drop. "What you did was simply beneath me." Draco turned red and clenched his fists. He reached for his wand and pointed it at nico's head.
"Say that again and you will have a taste of my wand." draco threatened him but nico was unfazed.
"Im sorry to disappoint you draco but im afraid i dont really want to be here either. I'd love for you kill me then i can go live with my mother.." nico was expressionless. "But im afraid my father wont approve..." the class looked on at the scene incredulously. Even professor mcgonagall wasnt interrupting this argument. It seemed that she, too, was sick and tired of Draco's antics.
Draco gaped at nico but quickly masked his surprise. "Who cares what your father thinks punk? I do what i want here and nobody can stop me." draco jabbed his wand into nico's chest. "Especially not you."
Nico looked at his fingernails and began cleaning them idly. The shadows around him thickened and the lights flickered. The ground trembled and split open, revealing a chasm. "It seems you dont know who my father is then." draco looked horrified by the scene and was rooted to the spot. Beads of sweat trickled down his temples and his legs shook with fright. Some girls shrieked with terror while the rest peered with amazement. Harry looked at the shadows and smiled-he knew nico was the cause of this. "Do you have anything to say draco?" draco's eyes screamed the unspoken apology nico was looking for and the atmosphere returned to normal.
"I thought so too. Anyway, professor, as i was saying, i have dyslexia and my mind is hardwired for greek, though i dont mind italian too. I suppose you have some spell you can cast on my text so i can read it?"
the professor nodded wordlessly. In her mind, she was startled by the abilities of this supposedly-not-young wizard. It was hard to master umbrakinesis at such a young age and yet nico performed it as though it was his second nature. In addition, throughout the incident, the professor did not see any object in his hand that looked like a wand. Wandless magic was a complex skill for one to learn and nico had perfected it with ease. Clearing her throat, she waved her wand and in an instant, nico's text was in greek.
Nico nodded appreciatively and proceeded to read the text, completely ignoring the whispers from his classmates. When he sat down, he felt a sudden tug from harry flood over him. It wasnt physically though, more like, his soul was calling out to him. His soul seemed tired and split and for a second, nico wondered why. It was odd though. The soul seemed alive and full of zeal but yet tired and split. Then a weird realisation came over him-it wasnt split...a split soul felt different.
That was when nico made the connection.
Harry had two souls inside him-one was his own, full and alive, no doubt about it. It was the other soul that was tired and split. There was something off about it. Nobody he knew had two souls inside them who was living. He hadnt even known it was possible.
Now he knew.