A/N: Back to our regular Saturday update schedule...

In the morning, the Leaky Cauldron was full of red-eyed Weasleys going up and down the stairs with school supplies, toiletries and half-eaten breakfasts. Nico tried to hide in his room to finish packing, but eventually he had to leave to look for Vescia.

He found her snuggling with a distraught Ginny near the back of the pub. "Uh…hi," Nico said. "May I have my cat, please?"

"Oh. Sure," Ginny sniffled. She picked up Vescia and handed her to Nico. "It's just so unfair. Leo will never get to pet any animal ever again. Or play any pranks. Or show Dad how Muggle objects work. Or invent devices to de-gnome the garden…"

"He's in a better place," Nico said, swallowing. At least, he hoped that was true; he'd found it frustratingly difficult to sense anything beyond the fact that Leo Valdez had definitely died.

"You can't know that," Ginny said despairingly. "No one can really know that."

Nico sighed and sat next to her. "Want to know a secret? I can know that. I'm special that way."

"Really," Ginny said flatly, not sounding convinced.

"Really," Nico said seriously. "There's a place, a beautiful place, for those who earn it. And Leo definitely earned it."

Ginny searched his face. "You really, truly believe that? With all your heart?"

"I know it. I mean it, I promise."

Ginny sighed and scratched Vescia's ears. "I miss him."

"And I'm sure he misses you." Nico dropped his gaze. "I…I didn't know him all that well, but I know he cared deeply about his friends. And his family."

Ginny smiled sadly. "Thanks. I, uh…I should finish packing. See you later."

"See you."

Five minutes later, the demigods were prepared to leave. Hermione was surprised by this. "Bit early, isn't it?" she said. "The train doesn't leave for another three hours."

"We're allowing time for monster attacks," Hazel explained. "Hopefully we won't have any, but no need to tempt the Fates."

"And you might want to travel separately," Nico added. "Just in case."

"All right," Hermione agreed. Then something occurred to her. "Wait a minute, I just realized…I'm not sure they'll let me take Crookshanks on the bus."

"Here." Hazel twitched her fingers, and suddenly Crookshanks' basket looked like a duffel bag. "No one will question you now."

"Uh…thanks." Hermione raised her eyebrows. "Illusions are a power of Pluto?"

"Manipulating the Mist is a power of Hecate, actually. For some reason, she's taken an interest in me."

"Ah."

"Which means Hazel's powers work much better than my magic," Nico grumbled. "Hecate chose to bless Hazel."

Hermione frowned. "Wait, what?"

"Oh, didn't I ever mention?" Nico continued sourly. "I wasn't born a wizard. Dad coerced Hecate into giving me wizard powers after I stumbled into the Leaky Cauldron that first time. And then he put my name on the list of potential Hogwarts students and manipulated the Mist to make sure the teachers wouldn't question my sudden appearance. Apparently, he didn't like me roaming around where monsters could get me. Worried I might not reach sixteen, and then who would he pin his hopes on?" Nico rolled his eyes.

Will gave him a curious look. "How'd your dad coerce Hecate?"

"You saw what he did to the Oracle. Do you really want me to answer that question?"

"Uh…no. Never mind. No, I don't."

"Didn't think so." Nico turned back to Hermione. "Anyway, see you at the station."

When Hermione got on a bus later that morning, the driver warned that they would have to take a detour due to a crashed bank transport along the route. She wondered if the demigods had had anything to do with that.

Hermione reached King's Cross with plenty of time to spare. She was just about to go through the barrier onto Platform 9 ¾ when she heard someone call out her name behind her. The demigods had arrived, Hazel with a bloody rip in her sleeve.

"Told you she'd beat us here," Will said to Nico.

"I never argued," Nico retorted.

Hazel rolled her eyes, then looked at the barrier. "We just…run through the wall?" she asked uncertainly.

"Yes," Hermione confirmed. She glanced around to make sure no Muggles were watching. "Here, I'll show you." She took a deep breath and ran through the barrier.

The demigods quickly joined her. Hazel removed the illusion from Crookshanks' basket, then they went to go find a compartment. Will insisted on carrying Nico's trunk, much to the latter's annoyance. He stowed it in the first empty compartment they found, then reached for Hermione's and put it next to Nico's.

"Right. That's settled, then." Will turned to Hermione and adopted a very serious look. "Now, a few rules for dealing with Death Boy here—"

"Don't call me Death Boy," Nico complained.

"First of all, he's banned from using his Underworld powers," Will continued, as if Nico hadn't spoken. "He'll melt into a puddle of darkness if he tries anything, and don't let him convince you otherwise."

"And if there's a life-or-death situation?" Nico challenged.

"You've got a sword. You know how to use it. You'll manage." Will looked at Hermione again. "Second, when he disobeys orders and gets himself into trouble, you'll need this." He handed a flask to Hermione. "Unicorn draught. Almost as effective as nectar and ambrosia, without the risk of spontaneous combustion."

"Spontaneous combustion would be bad," Hermione agreed.

"And if he starts fading again—"

"Fading?" Hermione repeated worriedly.

"If it happens, you'll know what I mean. Hopefully, it won't." Will pulled out a bottle of some neon blue liquid. "If he starts fading, give him this."

"Uh…okay." Hermione took the bottle. "What is it?"

"Gatorade," Will replied. "Marvelous properties for anchoring the soul to the mortal world." Hermione stared at him in disbelief, but his expression betrayed no trace of any joke.

"Okay, then." Hermione opened her trunk and put the unicorn draught and Gatorade inside. "Anything else?"

"No, I think that's it. If things get really bad, let me know and I'll come out there."

"I will. Well, hopefully I won't, but if the need arises, I will."

Hazel laughed. "We get it. I'm sure you'll take good care of my brother."

"It's like I've got three mothers now," Nico grumbled.

"Good." Hazel kissed him on the cheek. "Have a good year. Stay in touch."

"Yeah," Will agreed, suddenly sounding awkward. "Um…what she said. Have a good year. Follow your doctor's orders. Drop me a line every now and then."

"I will." Nico swallowed, looking nervous. "I, uh…I'll miss you." He hesitated, glancing at Hermione and Hazel. Then he leaned forward and kissed Will full on the mouth.

It was hard to say who looked more surprised, Will or Hazel. Will had gone an interesting shade of red and stared at Nico as if he'd never seen him before. Hazel staggered backwards and fell into a seat.

"I think the boys need a moment alone," Hermione suggested hurriedly. She grabbed Hazel's arm and pulled the other girl out into the corridor, closing the door behind them.

As soon as the door latched, reality crashed into Nico. Like his sister, he staggered and sat down. "Did…did I just do that?"

Will sat next to him and took his hand. "Well, thanks for clearing up whether or not you like me back. It's been driving me nuts."

"You're…you're welcome." Nico stared blankly at the opposite wall.

"Whoa…hey. Hey!" Will cupped Nico's chin and turned the latter to face him. "Breathe. I like you. You like me. This is a good thing."

"Er…yeah." Nico swallowed. "Does this make us…um, a couple now?"

"If you want it to."

"I think I…yeah. I'd like that."

"That's settled, then." Will leaned forward to kiss Nico again, longer and harder.

Eventually, Nico pulled away, slightly out of breath. "I really hope Hazel doesn't hate me now…"

"She's your sister, she loves you," Will said soothingly. "But we can go find out."

Meanwhile, Hazel was still in shock. "What…he…what?" she said weakly. "Did he just…"

"Look, Hazel, I know you probably grew up hearing that that's despicable and immoral, but times have changed," Hermione said urgently. "And really, it's just love. Love is love, no matter your gender."

"Love," Hazel whispered. "He…and Will…in love."

"He's probably heard horrible things about it, too," Hermione continued. "It must have taken an incredible amount of trust for him to do that in front of us. Don't betray that trust, all right? He doesn't need to lose another sister."

"Right, he…right." Hazel swallowed. "I suppose it's no stranger than computers…or cell phones…or dying and being resurrected…"

"He's still your brother," Hermione said seriously.

"Right," Hazel said again, her voice slightly stronger. "My brother. The only reason I'm even here. If he can give me a second life, I can accept him having a, uh…kissing…Will." She stared into space, then started. "Oh gods, he was trying to tell me that yesterday, and I kept interrupting him to say he should get together with you…"

"No thanks. I care about him, but not like that. He's more like the brother I never had."

Hazel managed a small smile. "He does make a good brother, doesn't he."

At that moment, the door opened to reveal Nico and Will, now hand-in-hand. "So…hi," Will said. "We're together now."

"Good," Hermione replied, smiling. She nudged Hazel.

Hazel took a deep breath. "If you're happy, Nico, I'm happy."

"Thanks." Nico pulled his hand out of Will's, shooting a nervous look at a group of students farther down the corridor. "Thanks, sis, that means a lot."

Hazel surged forward and crushed him in a hug. "You'll always be my brother, Nico, okay?" she whispered in his ear. "Always."

"Love you too."

Hermione cleared her throat. "I hate to break up this touching moment, but Will and Hazel should probably head out soon. You're getting some odd looks."

"Right." Hazel let go of her brother. "Be safe."

"And you."

"You definitely need to write to me," Will said sternly. He turned to Hermione. "And if you break him, I'll end you."

"You break his heart, I end you," Hermione replied, unfazed.

Will nodded. "Fair. Nice meeting you."

"Nice meeting you too."

Will flashed one more smile at Nico, then he and Hazel disembarked from the train. Nico and Hermione returned to the compartment and sat down.

Nico awkwardly cleared his throat. "So, um…you didn't seem very surprised."

"He made you laugh yesterday, Nico. In the two years I've known you, no one else has ever managed that."

"…he's a guy," Nico pointed out, his voice small.

"Nico, you're my best friend. I figured out you were gay a long time ago. I've been waiting ages for you to come out."

Nico managed to turn even paler. "What…is it that obvious?"

Hermione shook her head. "I don't think so. I was simply paying attention. I noticed that you tend to be a lot more short-tempered with guys than with girls, and I'd been trying to wrap my head around it. Then one day I caught you staring at one of the Hufflepuff boys. A few moments later, you snapped out of it and looked really aggravated. That's when I got the idea that maybe you were gay but hadn't come to terms with it yet. The more I watched, the more likely it seemed. Especially with Lockhart last year. You tried to hide it, but I could tell you found him just as attractive as…uh…as the girls did."

Nico raised his eyebrows. "You mean you did."

"Oh shut up," Hermione murmured, blushing.

Nico sobered again. "Well, thanks. When…when I first realized…I never imagined anyone would be okay with it. Including myself."

"Fascist Italy," Hermione said quietly. "I don't blame you."

"Yeah." Nico swallowed. "Jason kept telling me things are different now. It took a while for me to really believe him."

"Jason?"

Nico shuddered. "Cupid made me tell him."

Hermione gasped. "That's…that's just wrong."

Nico grimaced. "Gods aren't necessarily good. Just better than the alternatives."

Hermione nodded. "From what I've read, I believe that."

Nico stared out the window at the increasingly-crowded platform. "Don't tell anyone else about me, okay? I'm not ready for everyone to know."

Hermione smiled at him. "I've kept your secret this long, I can keep it as long as you want."

A/N: It's been my headcanon all along that demigods are not automatically wizards. Leo just happened to be born a wizard. Hades blackmailing Hecate into making Nico a wizard has always been part of the story, but it's taken me until now to find a way to work that into the fic.

And for the record, the Hufflepuff that Hermione caught Nico staring at was Cedric Diggory.