I'm back! School sucks and I don't know when I'll be able to get another chapter out, so I made this one extra long for you guys. It's also your holiday gift, so be safe and have fun, and if I don't upload before the New Year, enjoy the last of 2019.

The shadows spat him out in Dumbledore's office.

Nico groaned when his shoulder connected with the polished stone floor. He just laid there for a moment, curled up and watching his pale hands flicker between shadows and the mortal plane. His entire body ached. Shadow travelling from the Forbidden Forest to the castle had been the farthest he'd travelled without drinking unicorn draught since Tartarus.

He'd forgotten how much it hurt, especially given that he still wasn't fully healed in terms of his powers. Maybe he would swallow his pride and see if Pomfrey had any spells that could bibbidi bobbidi boo his pain away.

Nico winced as he pushed himself off the floor. He could feel the bruises forming on his shoulder. Yeah, maybe going to see Pomfrey is a good idea.

Footsteps clicked across the stones in front of his and Nico glanced up only to be met with a wall of pink.

"Mr. di Angelo!"

Oh shit.

It seemed as if he'd interrupted a meeting.

"Good evening, Professors," Nico said calmly as he stood up, though he could feel his heart racing in his chest.

Umbridge spluttered and Dumbledore just stared at him dumbly. He blinked several times, then seemed to grasp the situation. "Good evening to you as well, Mr. di Angelo."

"Did you not just see him, Albus?' Umbridge whirled around and glared at the Headmaster, pointing a finger at Nico. "The boy just Apparated inside Hogwarts!"

"You forget, Delores, that Apparating here is not possible," Dumbledore stated calmly.

She gaped at him, then at Nico, blinking in confusion. "But-but he-"

She went momentarily speechless again, then stomped her foot. "The Minister will hear about this. Di Angelo," she shrieked, "Another month of detentions!"

Nico's eyes widened and his blood froze in his veins. Not now, not when he was so close to finding them.

Umbridge whirled around and walked briskly to the door leading to the spiral staircase and Nico didn't even think, he just moved. He lunged for Umbridge and wrapped his hands around her shoulders, pulling her to the ground and rolling so he was directly above her.

"I'd say I'm sorry, Professor, but I'm really not," Nico placed his hands on either side of her head, fingers splayed across her temples. Umbridge struggled beneath him, but she couldn't reach her hand with her arms pinned to the side and even though Nico was much smaller, he had more strength and held her in place.

"Unhand me this instant, di Angelo! I am High Inquisitor, and I will not-"

Nico pushed her voice aside and screwed his eyes shut. He wasn't actually sure if he could do it - he'd never dream walked directly in someone's mind - but they said that dreams were where memories went when they became forgotten, so why couldn't he do the opposite? Cleaving his way past the mental wall Umbridge had put up, he waded past horrifying and disturbing memories that would have gotten Umbridge charged with several serious crimes in the mortal world. He was looking for the memory of what had just occurred.

He found it next to a rather terrifying memory of imprisoned wizards on a dark, god-less island.

Nico hoped there wasn't a connection.

Through all the wars and battles he'd fought, he'd never tried summoning his shadows inside someone's mind. Not deterred, however, he concentrated so hard his head hurt (which was a weird out-of-body experience, to say the least) and called forth the darkness from the depths of Umbridge's mind.

With a rippling sensation that rocked Nico to his figurative knees, the shadows whirled around him, then shot forward towards the memory. As if sensing his nonverbal cues, the shadows wrapped themselves around the memory, cocooning it tightly in a swirling mass of darkness.

The memory fought but the shadows held fast. They seeped into the glowing memory until it became dull and tarnished.

Then the shadows, and the memory, faded away.

Satisfied and exhausted, Nico withdrew back to his own body. Though it was technically dream walking, it felt weird and he was not eager to do it again.

Standing up quickly, he backed away to one of the towering bookcases, blending into its shadows. He could feel Dumbledore's gaze on him, but he pointedly ignored it. Instead, he watched as Umbridge began to wake up.

The High Inquisitor sat up quickly. Her eyes darted around the room before settling on Dumbledore.

With a huff, she scrambled to her feet and straightened her pink blouse. "Albus, what on earth just happened?"

Then her eyes grew distant and she suddenly sprang forward a half-step, eyes darting around the room once more. "Where is the boy - he was right here!"

Dumbledore's face fell into a mask of polite bewilderment. "I have no idea what you are talking about, Delores. Mr. di Angelo was never here; it is just you and I. Perhaps you hit your head when you fell? Come," Dumbledore took a step toward Umbridge. "Let me escort you to Poppy."

"I do not need your help, Albus," Umbridge said with an arrogant sniff.

She turned on her heel, and with the clacking of her shoes against the cobbles fading with every step, left the Headmaster's office.

There was a moment of silence as they both watched the door, then Dumbledore clasped his hands before him and turned towards the bookcase where Nico was hiding.

"Mr. di Angelo, care to explain to me why you are here?"

There was nothing but curiosity in his tone, yet Nico winced as the shadows released their hold on him. "Sorry Professor. I didn't realize you were in a meeting."

Dumbledore hummed. He walked back around his desk and gently lowered himself in his chair, before picking up a bowl of brightly wrapped sweets. "Sherbert Lemon?"

Nico blinked. "Uh, no thank you."

His refusal didn't seem to dissuade Dumbledore as the old wizard popped one in his own mouth. After a moment of silence, Dumbledore spoke again.

"To rephrase my question, what are you doing here? Why not schedule a meeting ahead of time if you needed to speak with me?"

Nico could feel his annoyance rear up within him but he forced it down. "I've had a recent… revelation about the Horcruxes."

"Ah," Dumbledore said, leaning back in his chair. "I trust the diary was of some help?"

"Yes, sir, in a way," When Dumbledore didn't respond, Nico hurried on, "That is to say, I've found the location of the Horcruxes - there seems to be five left - but sir," Nico hesitated, trying to think of the best way to phrase it. "I think Tom might've found me."

He explained what he'd seen to the Headmaster. After he was done, the two regarded each other in silence for a moment before Dumbledore stood and walked over to Nico.

"Nico, my boy, I know you are concerned with the lack of progress being made on your quest, but you need not be," He put a hand on Nico's shoulder and looked down at him with those old eyes that sparkled endlessly. "It is not yet winter break, and there are still many months left in the school year. I encourage you to relax and bond with your housemates. Judging by your records and the stories you've told, you've never had the chance to be a child your own age, so take this time to be that."

Nico inwardly seethed. How dare he? How dare this man, who knew nothing of Nico's life, pretend to know what's best for him?

Instead of letting his anger out like he so much wanted to, Nico clamped his hand around Dumbledore's spindly wrist and grinned wickedly as they melted into shadows.

oO0Oo

When Nico came to, he was lying on his back on the ground. He groaned and rubbed his eyes, trying to wipe away whatever was making them feel so heavy. Exhaustion weighed down on him, pressing on his chest as he tried to sit up.

"Ah! Mr. di Angelo, you're awake!"

Nico made a shushing sound as he screwed his eyelids shut against the assault of light and noise.

He could feel the vibrations of whoever had spoken walking closer and Nico made and effort to pry his eyes open against the ringing in his head.

All he could see was bright blue obscured slightly by a long triangle of white down the middle. Nico blinked again and his eyes adjusted. "Professor?"

The blue blob leaned back so Nico could see him better. "Mr. di Angelo, it is good to see you with the world once more."

Nico groaned and sat up, wincing at the protesting in his ribs. "Where are we?"

The Headmaster's smile faded. "In Diagon Alley, my boy. In an alleyway just outside of Gringotts, to be precise."

"Good," Nico grabbed the brick wall and used it to help push him to his feet. "This is where one of Tom's Horcruxes is."

He pushed off the wall with full intent of walking out of the alley with dignity (or as much as any pale, skinny kid walking with the Headmaster could), but the cobbles swayed beneath him the moment he let go.

"Mr. di Angelo!" Dumbledore watched as he stumbled but made no move to assist him.

Smart man.

"I do not think that is advisable," Dumbledore continued. "However it was that you got us here-"

"Shadow travel," Nico said through gritted teeth.

"-made you unresponsive to things of this plane. You collapsed upon arrival, but the spells cast to move you went right through your body - as if you didn't exist."

Nico looked up and saw there was genuine fear in the Headmaster's eyes. Whether it was fear of what this unknown power could do or fear that Nico could control it, Nico didn't know.

"I'm fine," Nico grumbled and stood once more, taking careful steps so as not to fall again. "It's just a side effect of shadow travelling. Getting closer to the realm of the dead causes a person to fade more into it. I did too much of it this summer and I guess that I'm not as healed as I thought."

Nico couldn't see Dumbledore's expression, but the man behind him was silent, as if just now remembering that this wasn't Nico's first time risking his life for the gods. Nico rolled his eyes and turned back to the Headmaster. "There's a cup inside Gringotts. We need to steal something that is not our own from a highly guarded security vault in the establishment of some of the most ruthless creatures in this society who do not like thieves. Let's go knock on the front door."

oO0Oo

The cart brought Nico down, down, down along the railroad track. It went farther than Nico's vault, past unground lakes and veins of precious metals and jewels. Nico knew Hazel would be completely overwhelmed if she came down here.

Two goblins sat in the cart with Nico and they eyed him warily, untrusting of his intentions. One of them eyed the sword that the security enchantments revealed with flexing fingers. Nico had no doubt that if it came to it, the goblin's fingernails were just as sharp as his sword.

Dumbledore was still in the upper part of the bank and Nico had to hide a smirk as he remembered how that interaction in Ragnok's office went.

"Headmaster Dumbledore," the goblin seated at the desk sneered. "What brings you to my office today?"

"Actually, my lord," Nico said, emerging from the doorway behind Dumbledore, "It is I who seeks you out."

"Ah, the young Lord Slytherin," Ragnok shuffled his papers together and slide them in a drawer in his desk. "Please, take a seat."

Nico slid into one of the seats in front of the goblin's desk, ignoring Dumbledore's baffled expression.

"How can I help My Lady's Champion today?"

Nico deliberated over his words. Goblins were excellent lawyers who knew how to understand what you weren't saying and manipulate what you were into their own interpretation. One wrong move and Nico could shatter the fragile respect he'd gained by questing for Hecate and being the lord of a Most Ancient and Most Noble house.

"There is a cup hidden in one of your vaults," Nico decided, "That belongs to an important person. This person was tasked with keeping it by Tom Marvolo Riddle. However, the cup is also one of Riddle's Horcruxes. Seeing how Riddle is a descendant of the House of Slytherin and I am its lord, all of his assets are mine to confiscate his belongings should I choose - in this case, his soul and its vessel. I wish only to take the cup from the vault and extract the Horcrux from it. After I am done, you may return the cup to its rightful owners."

Nico went on to describe the cup and the madwoman who'd hidden it away.

There was a tense moment of silence as the goblin stroked his chin with his long fingers. Finally, just as Nico thought Dumbledore was about to have a heart attack from processing all the bombshells that were laid down, Ragnok spoke.

"As Lord Slytherin, I cannot prevent you from freezing or confiscating a decedent's account and items. However, seeing as the cup is not in the possession of a member of the household of Slytherin, I cannot give unrestrained access to the vault."

Nico felt his shoulders deflate, but the goblin carried on.

"However, because you are on a quest for the founders of our world, and only because I do not wish their wrath upon me, I will allow you and only you to be accompanied down to the vault with Finak and Kilgon. Your professor must stay here."

Before Dumbledore could protest, Nico reached across the desk and shook the goblin's hand "It's a deal."

Dumbledore had not been amused with being forced to stay in the lobby whilst Nico fetched the Horcrux. Nico knew the man was just concerned for him, just as he was with all his students, but by the gods, it was getting infuriating. For the first time, Nico felt like he could breathe without the presence of the Headmaster looming over his shoulder.

The cart screeched to a halt at the side of a large platform that fell quickly into darkness. Nico, even with his enhanced sense (one of the few perks of being a demigod), couldn't see much beyond the stone columns. He could, however, hear something moving beyond. Snorting and scuffling and scraping. Every now and again there was a momentary flash, like something had caught fire but quickly been doused.

Nico took comfort in the familiar weight of his sword by his side.

"Come," one of the goblins - Nico thought it might have been Kilgon? - motioned toward him. "Lamp."

Obediently, Nico brought the lamp from the cart with him. The goblins exchanged glances, seemingly having a silent conversation, before Finak took the lamp from Nico and Kilgon moved farther into the darkness.

They didn't talk much, but Nico didn't mind that. After months of living with five boys who never seemed to shut up, he welcomed the silence.

Nico waited there for several heartbeats and was just about to ask the goblin next to him what was happening, when there came an awful clunking noise from the darkness.

Startled, Nico jumbled and gripped his sword, but Finak put a hand against his elbow and shook his head. "This way."

Mystified and still on high alert, Nico followed the goblin as he disappeared into the darkness. Jogging slightly to catch up, Nico stayed behind him as he went around the dank cavern lighting lamps with the lantern.

When the light illuminated the farthest corners of the cavern, Nico immediately wished it was dark again. He drew his sword and adjusted his stance.

In the center of the room lay the Colchian dragon.

Kilgon was off to the side, making a horrible racket with a metal instrument that had the dragon cowering away from it.

"Ukranian Ironbelly," Finak gave by way of description. "Guards the vault."

No, no, no, Nico wanted to scream, that is not a Ukranian Ironbelly and you've placed us all in grave danger by bringing me here.

He had no idea how it'd wound up beneath a wizarding bank, but Nico could see how the Colchian dragon might have been mistaken for a dragon Hagrid was rather fond of. In the dim light, the dragon's usual shimmering green-yellow scales were dulled from the lack of sunlight and covered in stone dust. Its eyes were milky and unseeing.

It's blind, Nico realized with no small amount of glee. It might not know I'm here.

Of course, the dragon took that instant to open its nostrils and smell the air. With a roar that shook the cavern, the scaly head whipped towards him, sightless eyes looking right at him.

Nico did not whimper, but he did let out a little yelp of fright.

"The vault," he screamed, voice cracking with fear, "Get me into the vault!"

The dragon pushed itself to its feet and let out another roar - this time in anger as it discovered how restrictive the chains that bound him were. It pressed upwards, straining against the chains as the groaned and creaked. As rusted and old as they were, Nico was surprised the dragon hadn't escaped before.

Nico prayed to his father and anyone else willing to listen that it didn't escape. He'd never taken on a dragon before. The last one he'd seen during the Battle of Manhatten had taken out four campers before they'd managed to turn it to dust.

Kilgon stood there in shock, Clankers forgotten where he dropped them.

Finak ran as fast as his legs would take him and practically thrust the lantern into Nico's hands when they got to the vault door. The goblin pressed his palm against the iron door and Nico could hear the mechanisms unlocking slowly - much too slowly.

Kilgon screamed behind them, but when Nico whirled around he wasn't there. Instead all that was left was the metal clankers, glowing red-hot amongst a pile of ashes.

Nico winced and spun back to see Finak pushing the iron door open with more strength than Nico could have thought he would have. Scrambling, Nico slid into the vault with the goblin just as the door slammed shut and grew uncomfortably warm as the dragon breathed fire in their direction.

Catching his breath, Nico leaned against the wall and watched Finak out of the corner of his eye. The goblin stood staring at the door, unmoving and not making a sound. If Nico didn't know the signs of shock, he would have thought the goblin dead.

Careful not to disturb his mourning guide, Nico pushed off the wall and scanned the room. It was like stepping into El Dorado.

Stacked from floor to ceiling were columns of galleons and pyramids of bars of gold and silver. Gemstones lay scattered about in piles on the cobble floors, strew half-hazardly everywhere. Several suits of armour stood guard along the walls and the eye-sockets in their helmets seemed to follow Nico as he stepped off the dais and into the room.

At first, Nico couldn't see the cup for the sparkling of the light on the jewel-embedded potion flasks and the numerous crowns and wands held on display in shining glass cases.

But then, amidst a mounted collection of dried monster and animal hides, Nico saw it. The cup was mounted on a dais of ivory and gold and seemed to tempt him as it shone in the torch-light.

Come and get me, son of Hades, a dark voice whispered, I am what you seek.

Nico's foot brushed a gemstone and it all went to Hades.

With a sound like the firecrackers they lit on the beach at Camp, the gemstone exploded into multiples of itself. Those multiples, in turn, hit other treasures that began multiplying with all the force of a small explosion.

"Cursed!" Finak wailed from behind him. "Multiply when touched!"

"Of course they do," Nico grumbled as he ran through the vault, dodging exploding coins and swords that seemed intent on piercing his skin. He lept over bars of gold and vials of poisons as light-footed and as steady as he'd ever been. If this new agility was a product of whatever the Matron had been using at the castle, Nico wondered if she could give him the recipe.

Pushing against the base of the tall dais, Nico jumped and swiped the cup off its pedestal.

One thing he hadn't accounted for was gravity.

He hit the growing pile of treasures beneath him with an impact that knocked the breath from his lungs. Nico's groan turned into a yelp when he felt heat sear through his shirt.

Finak was screaming from the other end of the room as the sea of cursed treasures rose higher and higher. Nico pushed himself up, ignoring the burns that sizzled through the flesh of his hands. He waded through the knee-high treasures, wincing as he felt the heat from the curses begin to eat away at the fabric of his pants and scorch the skin of his legs.

By the time Nico pulled himself up on the dais by the door, the cursed treasures were up to his neck. The burns on his neck were making it hard to breathe and he couldn't see Finak for all the treasure, but he could hear him wailing nearby.

"Brace yourself!" Nico yelled and shoved the iron door with what remained of his strength.

It groaned beneath his assault and swung open just as the treasures filled the room.

Nico, the goblin, and the treasure all spilled out of the room with a loud crashing noise that had the Colchian dragon rearing back in surprise. Nico ran toward where a single goblin hand poked out of a mass of rubies and pulled Finak out.

"Can you navigate the cart by yourself?" Nico yelled above the crashing and exploding.

Wide-eyed and terrified, Finak nodded quickly and limped as fast as he could toward the edge of the platform and the cart that would take them back to the surface.

Nico whirled around and turned his attention back to the dragon, but it seemed he didn't have to worry.

The dragon roared and thrashed about, blowing fire at the cursed treasures, but that only made them multiply faster. Soon dragon was buried up to its wings in silver bars and vials of potions. It turned towards Nico and growled, blowing a column of flame toward him, but even that was soon doused by an explosion of emeralds and topaz.

"Hurry!" Finak was gesturing to him from the cart with one hand held close to his burned chest and the other holding unsteadily to the levers.

Nico sheathed his sword, secured the Horcrux, and sprinted towards the cart.

oO0Oo

Ragnok was not happy to see them.

"Where is Kilgon?" The head of Gringotts frowned down at Nico and Finak when they returned, clothing in ashes, skin burned, and with one less member of their party.

"Ukrainian Ironbelly," Finak said by way of explanation, "Now ashes."

"That was not a Ukrainian Ironbelly," Nico limped forward, drawing the room's attention to him. "That was the Colchian dragon. It smelled me - my heritage - the moment we stepped into the room. We're lucky that only one person was killed."

Ragnok's nostrils flared and Nico felt a muted sense of danger, but he was too exhausted and in too much pain to pay much attention to it. He'd secured the Horcrux to his pants by tying the remainder of his tie through one of the handles then looping it through a belt loop. Now he brought it into the view of the goblin lord and his headmaster, ignoring the pitiful looks Dumbledore was giving him. He neither needed nor wanted this man's sympathy.

"With your permission, Lord Ragnok," Nico continued, "I will destroy the Horcrux."

Fury still burned in Ragnok's eyes, but he gave a terse nod toward Nico.

Untying the Horcrux, Nico placed it on Ragnok's desk and unsheathed his sword. It wasn't as efficient or as cool as his scythe, but Nico knew that summoning forth the Horcrux would take the last of his energy, let alone materializing a weapon of enchanted metal.

Taking a deep breath, Nico placed his hand on the badger engraved in the cup. Calling forth shadows from the depths of the metal, the room waited in charged silence as dark smoke, as thick and black as Nyx, rose from the shimmering golden cup.

"What the-"

Ragnok's voice was small and far away as Nico adjusted his grip on his sword. Beads of sweat ran down his forehead as he concentrated on gathering the Horcrux together.

Voices rang out from the smoke.

"Death is sometimes kinder."

"The other side, Nico! We'll see you there! Understand?"

"Here you go, son of Jupiter. How much do you trust me?"

"Some deaths should not be prevented."

"You do not have the strength."

It was that last one that caused rage to explode within Nico. Who was Cupid to say what he did or did not have in the name of love? Who was he to decide how much Nico had to risk.

With a wild yell, Nico swung the stygian iron sword at the whispering bundle of smoke and watched as the metal sank in with a soft sigh and the Horcrux disappeared, leaving only haunting words and a final screech in its place.

There was silence.

No one in the office spoke as the echoes of the screams disappeared into nothingness.

Finally, Finak broke the tension in the room by collapsing on the floor with a groan. As Ragnok called for a healer, Dumbledore turned to him.

"I must, I'm afraid, beg for one last favour, Ragnok," Dumbledore said, but Nico could hardly hear him. It felt like he was underwater and exhaustion weighed him doubt more with each passing moment. All he felt like doing was slipping into a coma for the next few millennia.

Ragnok grunted and Dumbledore smiled apologetically.

"Could we use your floo?"