The bathroom really was amazing. In a was it reminded Hermione of the prefects bathroom back at Hogwarts.

Hogwarts felt like such a foreign concept by now. It was a little over a year since she left it in its glory. A month since she stood fighting in the rubble of it, and just two days ago, she had stood in the ruins, observing the rebuilding process.

Now she was on the other side of the globe, but she might as well have been on a different planet. She really wasn't looking forward to speaking with Harry. She needed to ask on of the others about a café somewhere.

She missed him, absolutely, but it wouldn't be fun to admit the extent of her secrets.

…

Hermione had been sitting under a tree reading, when she had the creeping feeling, that someone was watching her. She lifted her eyes slightly, keeping herself relatively hidden behind her book.

There! Across the lake, stood a boy, roughly her age. He was dressed in black, a black sword at his side. He was wearing a brown jacket, that looked way too big, but that might just be because he looked really skinny. His face was gaunt, and he was pale, bordering on transparent. She wondered absently if he was a ghost or a ghoul, she just hadn't encountered before, but he was too solid for that.

She was positive that he wasn't a student.

She would have noticed him.

And attempted to force feed him.

She watched out of the corner of her eye, as he started to walk towards her. As he drew closer, she felt a different sort of power coming from him. She was used to feeling the magic within her peers, but this was another, more pronounced and dangerous sort of power. It made her alert, but she was still unafraid. Which wasn't logical, since skeleton-kid was walking towards her with a sword. 'At least it's still sheathed' her mind said.

Not a wizard then.

He walked up to her, only to slow down and start walking again.

Hermione was getting impatient. And curious.

"If you're going to sit, just do it already. Your indecision is getting ridiculous."

She heard herself say. She heard him walking closer and felt, more than heard him sitting down beside her. U close, his power felt overwhelming. Her entire body was buzzing and she could feel her heart rate increasing. This was the most powerful being she had ever encountered, and now he sat down next to her.

Now, what to say to him? She couldn't really ask him, what he was. That would be rude.

"Where are you from?"

'That was a good question' her mind said.

He took a long time trying to find an answer. Apparently 'home' was a loose concept.

"I would say America, but I'm originally from Italy. We moved many years ago." He said eventually.

"I'm Nico. Di Angelo. Nico di Angelo."

She couldn't help but smile at that. It was a cute name, but he really didn't look like an angel.

She stretched out her hand anyway.

"Hermione Granger"

When he took her hand, a shock went through her entire body, and when he didn't let go, she could feel her own power responding to his. Her body started feeling weak, as if he were draining her. Not purposely. He looked as surprised as her, if not more.

"You're different. How?" She got out.

He didn't respond. He just looked around, bewildered.

She was starting to grow dizzy. He dragged her into the shadows, and she vaguely wondered if she had fallen prey to some sort of magical creature she hadn't read about. The odds for that were slim though. She had almost finished the 'Magical Creatures' section in the library, and she doubted there was anything on the rest of the shelf she hadn't already read at least a bit about.

Besides, she would have remembered reading about such a fascinating creature as Nico di Angelo.

Suddenly the world went dark. She thought for a second that she had passed out, but then came the feeling of a frantic wind, and noises in the air, like voices speaking backwards

Then she passed out.

…

When Hermione had finished showering and had gotten dressed, she returned to the room she had spent the night in. Only to be confronted by Nico's shirtless back.

He had most definitely changed a lot. He was still slender, but he looked healthier. He had the upper body muscle of a young man used to sword fighting.

He turned around to find her staring and smirked, making her turn away to hide her blush.

She cleared her throat

"Will you come with me to go deal with Harry? I don't know if he's bringing anyone else, but either way, it would be foolish to go without backup. You know, in case of monsters..." she trailed off

"Hey, don't worry about it, Princess. We'll figure it out." Nico said, embracing her, apparently forgetting, that he wasn't wearing a shirt.

Hermione was happy, that he was hugging her from behind, so he wouldn't see her red cheeks. That is, untill she saw him smiling cheekily at her in the mirror next to the door.

He did that on purpose, that little shit. She shoved her elbow back into his stomach, making him stagger, as she hit his diaphragm.

"Alert, are you?" she smirked

He stood up. "You want to do this now?" he asked her incredulously.

"Why not? Morning exercise. You know I can fix anything in here." se said, taking off her shoes and outer shirt, leaving her in jeans and a sports-bra.

"I don't think that's such a good idea."

"Why not?" she could really do with burning off some on the jittery energy that came with all their angst.

She tried to shove him a couple of times

He captured her arm, twisting it behind her back, pulling her so they were chest to chest, effectively pinning her in place with only one hand.

The height difference between had become notable.

She struggled, but he held fast, using his free hand to push her hair out of her face.

She gave a frustrated scream.

He chuckled and smirked.

"Because you're rusty. And I don't think seeing you with bruises in my company is going to help your friend's image of me."

She slumped in his arms and sighed. Enjoying being in his ams for a moment.

"You're right. I just have a lot of nervous energy."

"We can train when we get back"

He kissed her forehead and released her.

She took the opportunity to crouch down and sweep his feet. When he was down, she jumped up on top of him, pushing her forearm into his throat.

"HA!"

"You fight dirty!" he accused, scowling up at her.

"I fight smart." She countered with a smirk.

That was how Reyna found them.

Prince of Darkness half naked, on the floor at the mercy of a girl. She approved.

They didn't notice her standing in the doorway at all though.

Nico bucked, throwing her off her balance, and flipped them around, and switched their position.

"If you can fight dirty, so can I"

Reyna had had enough by then, and cleared her throat loudly, probably enjoying the 'deer in the headlights'-moment more than she should have.

She left them there, and as she was walking down the hallway she yelled loudly

"IF YOU TWO WOULD LIKE TO GET SOME CLOTHES ON, WE'RE HAVING A MEETING IN FIVE!"

Nico cursed in what sounded like ancient Aramaic, if Hermione wasn't much mistaken.

It was Hermione's turn to curse, when they vaguely heard Percy's " They what?!" and Pipers whooping from the kitchen.

Nico looked down at her. Her cheeks were flushed and her hair was a mess. She looked beautiful.

"Later?" He asked.

"Yeah, later." She smiled, embarrassed.

I know, I know, not real action, but hopefully I can make that happen in the next chapter. Looking forward to that. Also, looking forward to working more on the flashbacks.

Again, please review, it makes me really happy!