Wizards XXIX

The guest house was being hit by a tornado.

Professor McGonagall was the only one trying to keep everything under some semblance of control, and she was failing. Badly.

People were running all over the place. Neville was turning the common room upside down looking for a book that he knew he'd brought. Luna, Ginny and three other fourth year girls were trying to figure out which of them owned what clothes that were scattered all over their room. A seventh year was running back and forth between his room and the common room for some unknown reason. Trunks were being slammed shut and thrown open as their owners found possessions they had been missing. Everywhere there was noise and chaos.

It was worse than packing up at the end of the school year, and it had only been one month.

"Uh, Harry?" Ron asked.

Harry looked up from his packed trunk. He blinked when he saw the knife Ron was holding between two fingers.

"Is this yours?" Ron wanted to know.

Harry shook his head. "Is it Celestial bronze?"

"I think so."

Harry took the knife and tried (and failed) to cut his palm with it. "It must be Nico's. I'll take it to him. I'm done packing anyway."

Ron nodded. "Alright, mate. I'd better finish up."

Ron's truck was open and spilling stuff all over the floor. He wasn't even close to done packing.

Harry carefully navigated the storm and made it out of the guest house without a scratch. Outside he ran into Sirius, who was doing his best to avoid the whole mess without abandoning the guest house for the climbing wall.

"Finished packing, Harry?"

"Yup." Harry held up the Celestial bronze knife. "I'm going to return this to Nico before we leave."

"I'll come with you," Sirius said quickly. "I've almost gotten hit by flying shoes twice already, and they weren't the kind with wings."

They started walking towards the cabins. It was late in the day. Most of the demigods had free time. There was a group of boys playing a game of basketball. They called for Harry to join them, the surprise discovery having been made last week that Harry was an awesome basketball player, but Harry shook his head.

"Maybe later," he shouted. The boys nodded and gave thumbs up before going back to their game.

"Sirius," Harry asked, "you are going to be coming back with us, right?"

It was something that hadn't been confirmed yet. All of the wizards that had come to Camp Half-Blood knew that Sirius wasn't dead, but that didn't mean that the rest of the wizarding world would believe them. Maybe they'd think that it was just someone pretending to be Sirius. And there was always the chance that Minister Fudge would decide that Sirius was still a mass murderer and re-enact the Kiss on Sight order.

He was in Lucius Malfoy's pocket after all.

"Of course I'm coming back!" Sirius said. "I'm a free man, and if anyone disagrees I'll hex them."

Harry laughed, picturing Sirius making Fudge tap dance and Lucius Malfoy turn into a ferret.

"And, since I am I free man, there's nothing stopping you from coming to live with me," Sirius declared.

Harry stopped walking right next to Hestia's fire. "Really?"

"Yes, really." Sirius grinned. "Did you think I wasn't serious? Not at my family's home of course, but we'll find a place, somewhere in the country where you'll be able to go flying."

"That'd be brilliant," Harry exclaimed. "But…will Dumbledore let us?"

"He'd better!" a girl said.

Harry and Sirius turned and saw Hestia standing beside her fire with her hands on her hips and a determined look on her nine year old face.

Harry bowed. "Lady Hestia."

"You do not bow to me, Harry Potter," Hestia said. "You and Sirius will stay together, you are a family. If Albus even thinks of stopping you, he and I will have words."

The fire of her eyes grew brighter. Harry was sure that her having words with Dumbledore would not be pleasant for the Headmaster, not matter how kind the goddess normally was.

"Thank you, Lady Hestia," Sirius choked out.

Hestia smiled warmly. "You're welcome, Sirius."

The goddess disappeared and the fire flared, signalling the end of their conversation. Harry and Sirius finished walking across the green and Harry knocked on the door of the Hades cabin.

"Hang on," Nico called from inside.

After a few seconds, Nico opened the door, pushing his hair out of his face. "Hey, Harry. Hi, Sirius."

"Hi, Nico." Harry held up the knife. "I just wanted to give this back."

Nico took the knife with a look of relief. "Thanks, I've been looking for this." He tapped the hilt and the knife shrunk into a ring that he slid onto his left pinky. "My stepmother gave it to me and I don't want to make her mad again."

That would be bad.

He looked at Harry and Sirius. "Do you want to come in?"

"If you're busy," Harry started.

Nico shook his head. "Like I said, I was looking for my knife. Jay's chaperoning Sapphire and Leo's date, so I'm on my own."

Harry looked at Sirius, who didn't show any objection. "Sure."

"So," Nico asked once they were inside and seated comfortably on the couch in front of the fireplace, "how'd you like camp?"

"It has been fantastic," Harry said with a grin. "I know why Dunbar and Greengrass don't want to leave; I'd stay here forever if I could."

"It is home," Nico murmured. "Chiron wants us to be able to live in the mortal world though."

"Chiron is very wise," Sirius said.

"He is several millennia old," Harry pointed out.

"Lily would agree with him," Sriuis said. "That's all that matters."

Thunder rumbled faintly above them.

"Anyway," Nico said quickly, "I'd say we'd be glad to have you back, but, to be honest, we couldn't handle another summer like this one."

"Our professors probably couldn't either," Harry agreed.

McGonagall had been complaining about the inevitable rush to prepare for next school year that was going to happen since their trans-ocean train had left King's Cross.

"I'm kind of surprised Professor Dumbledore didn't come," Nico commented. "It would have been a good chance to gather allies for your war. The amount of wizards and other magic folk in New York alone, I mean, everything is in New York."

Harry swallowed uncomfortably. Of course, Nico noticed.

"Harry? Something wrong?"

"Dumbledore wanted me, Ron and Hermione to convince you to fight Voldemort with us," Harry blurted out.

Sirius grimaced. He and Harry both waited for the son of Hades to kill them.

"I know," Nico said.

Harry blinked. "What?"

"I know," Nico repeated. "Actually, everyone here knows."

"How?" Sirius asked.

Nico nodded to Harry. "I was eavesdropping on your conversation."

Harry wasn't sure whether to be angry or relieved. Eventually he decided to go with relieved.

"You mean you all already knew that we were going to try to get you to fight? And you still let us come here?"

Nico nodded. "We all knew we weren't going to fight, and people wanted to meet you and your friends. Your ookbs and oiemvs are really popular."

Harry made a face. "Our what?"

Nico shook his head. "Never mind, the Mist scrambles that. It's not important for you."

"Oh," Harry said, still not understanding. "You're not mad at us for listening to Dumbledore?"

"He's Dumbledore," Nico said flatly.

"That's very true," Sirius said with a nod.

Nico got up and went to take something out of a black and orange jar on the fireplace's mantelpiece. He threw it towards Harry, who quickly caught it.

"You know how to Iris Message?" Nico asked. "Make a rainbow and all that?"

Harry nodded, turning the gold drachma over in his hand.

"I'm not going to fight because Dumbledore told me to," Nico said firmly. "If you need my help, you call me, got it?"

"Got it." Harry found himself smiling. "Thank you, Nico."

Nico sat back down. "Hey, I don't have many friends. I'd hate to have one die on me."