CHAPTER SUMMARY

Ron, Hermione, and Percy escape the mob. Nico has an unpleasant conversation with Paul.

WARNING: I have officially jumped the shark.

BEGINNING NOTES

Chapter Rating: No Audiences
Content Warning: Cursing, Violence (mild), Loss of Your Innocence
Word Count: 3360

I have read this chapter a thousand times. I have waited in earnest for my betas to read this chapter. I had to sit on my hands to keep from posting this chapter weeks in advance. I have been looking forward to this moment since I wrote this chapter (on July 19th!).

Be afraid, my friends. Be very, very afraid.

And all the characters are owned by JK Rowling, or Rick Riordan.

Credits at the end.

_NICO_

Nico stood in the middle of a mob somewhere in the Wizarding World. It looked vaguely like Hogsmeade, but much, much more urban. Spells flew all over the place, and people left and right were getting the crap beaten out of them. Standing in front of him was none other than Ron Weasley.

"Percy! Help me!" Ron shouted to his brother, judging by the red hair. No response. Percy was pale as a sheet behind him, frozen to the spot. "Percy! Hermione's going to die if we don't help her! Please, if we get out of here, no one from the Ministry will ever know!" Percy didn't answer. His horrified eyes darted around the scene. Ron grunted in frustration. "Come on!" He grabbed his brother's hand and dragged him through the throng until they reached the front.

A high-pitched shriek pierced Nico's ear. Was that why Ron was throwing himself into this mess? Ron took a gulp of air, let go of Percy's hand, and dove. Nico followed him under. There was blood, so much blood. How many people had already died in the mob?

It was hard for Ron to breathe. His gasps got more frequent, and his movements slowed. He fought through unconsciousness until he found mossy brown hair caked with dirt and blood. "Please, Merlin!" Ron shouted and reached out to it. He found a pair of shoulders, looped his arms around them, and yanked.

Hermione. No...

She was a bloody mess, caked in blood and grime, with a crushed nose to boot. "Percy, will you please help me?!" Ron shouted.

"So many people..." Percy whispered. "Why did they curse them?"

"Percy!"

Percy woke from his trance long enough to accept Hermione into his arms. The two of them stumbled past spell after spell, dodging a few punches and kicks on their way.

His dream changed. Mamma and Hades sat on a stone bench overlooking a canal. Nico remembered that place-the bench was right in front of their house in Venice. He and Bianca would sit there every day with Mamma, waiting for Nonno to come home from work. Sometimes they ate dinner there or watched the sunset. If they were misbehaving, Nonno put them on that bench for a time-out. When Papà came to visit, Mamma waited for him there as he and Bianca stood on chairs to peer out the front window. When he thought of his infancy in Venice, he thought of that bench.

Mamma held Hades' eye with a steel gaze, studying every feature on his face. She ran her hands over her skirt, smoothing out any wrinkles. Her foot tapped nervously on the pavement. Hades was silent and still as a statue as he held Mamma's gaze.

"You have done things I did not think were possible," she whispered. "But a god... what do I say? Greek gods... does the church lie to me?"

"Belief makes gods," Hades replied gently. It was the first time Nico ever heard him so tender. "The Egyptian and Norse gods exist, why not yours too? I once heard Thor challenged Jesus to a duel, but Jesus never showed. It might be true."

"He is a pacifist." Mamma laughed softly. "This is pazzo. [crazy.] But I believe it. This changes nothing." Hades honest-to-gods smiled to himself. "I suppose I should have known..." she mused.

"How?" Hades asked.

"I know the stories. When a Greek god comes, lei rimane incinta. [she becomes pregnant.] One night in Washington, and I am with child."

"You're pregnant?"

"You know that," Mamma snapped. "I do not like those who lie to me. Why would you come to me in Italy, when Olympus is in America, unless you knew?"

"I didn't know. I came because I wanted to see you."

"Do you love me?"

"I would do anything for you, Maria!"

She smiled. "Then concedimi un favore. [Grant me a favor.] For the child."

"Name it. I swear on the River Styx."

Mamma took his hand. She pressed a soft kiss to his lips. When she pulled away, she met his eye with fire in hers. "Padre is an important man. I entertain many people in my home because of his work. When I ask, you must come and pretend to be my husband. It will not be often; I will say you are Mr. Andrew Devin, an American businessman and in Germany for work. But when I ask, you will be by my side."

Nico had to admire Mamma's courage. It was a lot to ask of a god. Hades wasn't definitely wasn't happy. "You swore," Mamma pressed. "Understand, I will not hurt my father's reputazione [reputation] over my sin. Politica [politics] are dangerous today. I must keep him safe."

Hades, of course, gave in. "My smiths will make you the finest ring in the world. And when you call, I will be there."

"Thank you, my love. Padre will be home any minute, and I will tell him about our child." She shot him a teasing smile. "Stay at your own risk."

Hades stood immediately. He kissed Mamma's hand, then melted into the shadows.

Nico woke in the Hades cabin, the drama in the Wizarding World forgotten with his dream. He had bigger fish to fry with war looming on the horizon. Summer campers would be arriving all day today like Chiron promised Artemis, Hestia, and Mr. D last night. The camp would be at full capacity, and, by tomorrow, planning for the war would begin. Even if Chiron wanted to keep things secret, his friends all agreed that they would spread the word. Everyone had to be prepared with so much at stake.

"You're up!" Hazel cried. Nico looked down from his bunk to see his sister folding clothes on her bed. Her suitcase was open on the floor.

"You're leaving?" Nico asked.

Hazel nodded. "Lupa called all the campers back to Camp Jupiter like Chiron did. We need to train with the cohorts. Reyna said we're leaving tonight, after Capture the Flag."

Nico slid out of bed and wrapped his sister in a hug. "Stay safe, okay? For me."

"Are you going somewhere?"

Nico grabbed his aviator's jacket from its hook and zipped it up over his pajamas. "I need to talk to Paul. I'll find you before you leave, don't worry."

With that, he was off. The truth was, he needed information about what was happening. He got the gist of last night's news, but everyone was terrified of the gods' alliances-more than he was. And his mother was the only casualty last time. That didn't seem right. He was the one most affected by that war; he should be more afraid than anyone, yet he seemed to be frightened the least out of all of them. He was missing something, he knew it.

He saw Paul alone on the Big House porch, drinking a cup of gas station coffee. "Paul!" Nico called as he jogged over.

Paul smiled over his coffee. "Good morning, Nico. Your friend Cecil gave this to me this morning. The Big House has no coffee machine."

Nico laughed. "The Hermes kids love robbing the stores nearby. They're good at sneaking out. So, I need to ask you something. I know you were an English teacher, but maybe you heard stuff from the history department?"

Paul chuckled. "A lot of things. What is it?"

"Who's Adolf Hitler?"

Paul slowly lowered his coffee cup. "Who was your World History teacher, Nico?"

"I never took it. I missed sophomore year for the quest, remember?"

Paul nodded. "Good. I thought I was going to have to fire somebody. Um, why the-sudden-interest?"

Nico lowered his eyes. "There's some bad stuff happening, and it's supposed to be a godly version of... um, World War Two-that's the name, right? It sucks that there was another one, by the way-and Annabeth mentioned that the Italians were fighting with Germany, and I know Mamma used to say Hades was her husband away on business in Germany. This war might be related, you know? Plus, the leader, Adolf Hitler, was a son of Hades and so I want to know more about my half-brother."

Paul choked on his coffee. "Your... half-brother? You know what, Nico, I don't think this is that important. They're all dead, and-"

"If you won't tell me I'll find Annabeth's computer and look it up on Wikipedia."

"No! Don't do that, please. I'll tell you." Paul hesitated, then grabbed Nico's hands. "This was all a long time ago, Nico, you do understand that?"

"Yeah, I know. It's okay, Paul, I promise you whatever it is, I saw worse in Tartarus. I can handle it."

Paul sighed. "When did Hades put you in the Lotus?"

"1939."

"So you lived in fascist Italy, then."

"...what's 'fascist' mean?"

Paul took a deep breath. "Okay. Nevermind. So, Hitler was the dictator of Germany. You know what a dictator is?"

"Yeah, Mussolini was one, Mamma said. It means 'leader of a country' right? But in a bad way."

"Basically, yes. At the end of 1939, Hitler invaded Poland and started another World War. It was even worse than the first one. Thirty-seven million died in World War One, eighty million died in World War Two, just to give you an idea. It was bad, and a lot of that, um..."

Paul's silence gave Nico time to take that in. Nonno fought in the Great War, and his stories were so terrifying that Mamma forbade him from telling him and Bianca. But Nonno always said that Nico had to know. As a kid, he'd wanted to be a soldier like Nonno, and so Nonno did everything he could to prep Nico for it. He was really proud his grandson was going to follow in his footsteps, but he never sugar coated anything. If the second Great War was even worse... no wonder everyone was so afraid.

"Why did my brother start the war?" Nico asked.

Paul flinched a little. "He's not your brother, Nico, don't say that. And, why is... complicated. It doesn't matter right now. The thing is, he wasn't a nice person. He was one of, if not the most, evil men who ever lived. He wanted land because he wanted to kill people he didn't like. If you weren't Aryan-ethnically German-you were dead. He targeted the Jews, Catholics, black people, people with disabilities... and, um, gay people. He put them in camps and worked them to death, and when that didn't work fast enough, he put them in gas chambers and sprayed them with pesticide until they died."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, what?" Nico's head was spinning. He was related to... how could... no, this wasn't... but... "How long did this go on for?" he asked, grasping at straws. A terrifying thought entered his brain, and he needed it not to be true.

"Six years," Paul told him. "When it was clear Germany wasn't going to win, Hitler committed suicide in 1945."

"So... no one killed him?"

"No, no one killed him."

"And the Americans were fighting him, right?"

"Yes. Nico, are you all right?"

Was he all right? The answer was a big, fat no. After what happened with Harry, Nico swore never to jump to conclusions, but that thought in his brain wasn't a jump, it was a step. A step he had to make, a step that made his insides catch on fire.

Why would the Fates send him dreams about his parents, of all things? Especially their courtship? Persephone's quest had nothing to do with that.

Why did Hades come to you in Italy, Mamma? You were fighting against his son's friend. You were trying to ruin his son's plans. He was the one who took your messages to the Americans, he insisted on it. Why would a god father two children with the same woman, and stay there for more than a decade without getting bored and leaving? That never ever happens. He's a god. He could smite anyone with a wave of his hand. He let his son start a war. He let his son kill people. No wonder he doesn't care about me. I was a side project. He was there to sabotage you. His son was a monster... and he protected him.

"How many people did he gas, Paul?"

Paul hesitated for a second time. Nico dreaded every second of silence. "Sixteen million."

Nico dropped to his knees and vomited right there on the Big House porch.

_RON_

Ron was alone in his room when he heard a knock on the door. "Yeah?"

Percy walked in and slowly closed the door. "How's Hermione?" he asked.

"Okay. Mum's looking after her. She won't have to go to St. Mungo's."

"Good. I was just talking to her dad. He's out of his mind."

" 'Course he is. It's his daughter."

Percy walked further into the room. Ron waited for him to sit down, but he didn't. His brother stared out the window, watching Fred, George, Charlie, and Ginny playing Quidditch in their yard. "I'm sorry I broke down like that. I shouldn't have, but... all those people. Why would the Ministry do any of this?"

Ron shifted uncomfortably. "You didn't meet Umbridge. The Ministry's doing everything they can to stay in power. I don't think Fudge has a limit."

"How did Harry really die, Ron?"

Ron was speechless. How could Percy know the Whomping Willow story was fake? But, in the silence, Percy turned to him with a dark, serious expression. He meant business. He wouldn't take denial, he would press Ron until he got the truth out of him, that was clear. Percy had many faults, but intelligence was not one of them. He would get it out of Ron no matter what he said or did. It was only a matter of the easy way or hard way, and Ron didn't feel like playing games. Worrying about Hermione sapped all his energy.

"How did you know that was a lie?"

"Because Hermione wouldn't be that reckless unless something bigger was going on. She would've known she couldn't stop things from escalating. So, what gives?"

Ron took a deep breath. "Tom Riddle-that's You-Know-Who's real name-came back, Percy. I know you don't want to believe it, but it's true. Three American exchange students, Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, and Nico di Angelo, came to Hogwarts last year, but they weren't really exchange students. They were sent to kill Riddle by Nico di Angelo's father. Riddle had these things called horcruxes that kept him alive after Harry killed him as a baby. Harry was one of them. When he found out, he went to Nico and asked him to kill him. Nico did. We destroyed the other horcruxes together last December. There was a huge battle on the Hogwarts grounds, and Nico dueled with Riddle and killed him. That's how Harry died. He sacrificed himself to save the Wizarding World."

Percy took it all in, still staring at his siblings' Quidditch match. "And why don't we know about the battle, then?"

"I don't know. Hermione and I asked Dumbledore the same question. No one remembers it except the Order and Hermione and me. Maybe some death eaters too, but they're all either dead or in Azkaban."

"The Ministry wiped their memories," Percy declared. Ron didn't like how sure he sounded. "They can do it on muggles, so there's no reason they didn't do it on wizards. If they could send Umbridge to Hogwarts and cover Riddle's return for so long, putting the Wizarding World in jeopardy, why would they care about cursing some students?"

"But they didn't do that to me. I don't remember them at Hogwarts at all."

"Because they did it remotely. I'm not supposed to say this, but they're working on ways to wipe the minds of muggles from a distance. As long as they were close enough to Hogwarts to see it, they could do it. The Ministry probably saw this as a nice way to test their capabilities. That's why the Order wasn't affected; they weren't in Hogwarts. I'm sure the Minister knew no one would believe the Order if they told; he's done a pretty damn good job discrediting their former members."

"But why wouldn't Hermione and me-"

"Merlin protected us." Ron and Percy both jumped. There in the doorway was Hermione, banged up and pale. Ron leaped to his feet and helped her over to the bed. "Thanks," she heaved, tired from walked down from the attic. "The threat of war never went away after the first of January. Merlin knew it was coming, he told me so when we spoke yesterday. He chose us to be his champions, to protect the Wizarding World. That's why he appeared to me in the first place, to tell me what was happening and, in his words, 'Prepare yourself, and do what you can to keep this world from chaos. Be my champion, and protect my lands.' "

"You remember his exact words?" Ron asked.

Hermione looked at him, a small smile on her lips. "I'll never forget meeting that god. Wait until you meet one, and you'll know why."

"Wait, wait, wait, wait!" Percy cried. "What do you mean god?! Merlin was a wizard, and he's been dead for centuries!"

"The Greek and Roman gods are real," Ron said. "Percy was a son of Poseidon, the god of the sea, Annabeth was a daughter of Athena, the goddess of wisdom, and Nico was a son of Hades, Lord of the Dead. I said Nico's dad sent him to kill Riddle. That's why. Riddle cheated death twice and Hades was angry."

Percy collapsed onto the bed next to Ron and Hermione. "I... I can't believe this."

"It's true," Hermione verified. "We saw enough proof with our own eyes. They were more powerful than you can believe. And when I saw Merlin... he had to be a god. He was walking miracle."

Ron knew it would take time for Percy to process all that, so it was no surprise that he changed the subject immediately. "The Wizarding World has to know about... Riddle... and Harry's death and what the Ministry did to Hogwarts. Someone has to stop Fudge, or we'll have a king for the first time in centuries. I... froze at the mob because... I'm the informant. All those people got hurt, everything happened, all because of me. I overheard Fudge and the department heads at a meeting and... it took a lot to get word to Wizarding Weekly without showing my face, but I had to. I can't work for a government like this. I won't work for people who go this far for power. That's why I came back. I realized I picked the wrong side."

"How far does this conspiracy go, Percy?" Hermione asked. "You have to know more than this if you put yourself in so much danger."

Percy closed his eyes. His whole body was shaking horribly. "All the department heads are in on it. I already suspected it, but now I'm sure that they all knew Riddle came back. I meant to wait a few weeks before revealing the rest, snoop some until I was sure whether the Heads really did know he was back and were outright lying to the public. Now I do."

Ron squeezed his brother's hand, trying to give him some sense of comfort. "What are you going to do, then?"

Percy took a deep breath. "The Minister's Christmas Eve radio broadcast. I'll use it to tell everyone all this-except the gods, Merlin knows why I believe you myself. I set the equipment up for Fudge. If the Order helps me take out the other Ministry personnel I can take over the broadcast. It'll be hard to organize in thirty-six hours, but it's the only way to make sure everyone hears. No one misses that broadcast, ever. The whole Wizarding World will hear the truth and no one can cover it up."

Ron stared at him in pure terror. "You don't mean..."

But in Percy's eye was a dark, terrifying determination. "I'm going infiltrate the Ministry."

END NOTES

To end this glorious chapter, let me read from my planner:

CH 16 (12/23)
EVERYONE: Dear gods she is not going there.
ME: Oh, I'm GOING there.

Hey, if Uncle Rick didn't want us thinking about this, he shouldn't have made Adolph Hitler a son of Hades.

(Also the "who was your world history teacher, Nico?" joke is one of my favorite jokes in the whole fic.)

Okay, time for an actual note: Percy's in shock that gods spoke to Ron and Hermione and that there are gods in the first place (and that Merlin is one), not that the Greek gods exist. Like Ron, he didn't know who the Greek gods were. I couldn't find a place to clarify this in the actual fic without it seeming super out of place.

PS: the beta commentary is gold

PPS: Andrew Devin means "divine man" because I have a stupid sense of humor. I like too much, ok?! (Hey, Nico di Angelo means "victory of the people of angels" so I can't be the only writer who likes foreshadowing via character names). (Short form of Nikodemos, a Greek compound name composed of the elements nikē (victory) and dēmos (people, population): hence, "victory of the people." and di Angelo means "of angels.")

SOURCES:
History on the Net /how-many-people-died-in-ww1
Encyclopedia USHMM /content/en/article/documenting-numbers-of-victims-of-the-holocaust-and-nazi-persecution
National WW2 Museum /students-teachers/student-resources/research-starters/research-starters-worldwide-deaths-world-war
Behind the Name /name/andrew
Surnames Behind the Name /name/devin-2

This week's beta commentary:
STORY: [This was an email so its kinda cheating but whatever]
LISSY: Chapter 16 goes up in two days! Also I am so, so excited for you to read it... I either jumped the shark or... yeah, yeah I jumped the shark.
LISSY: So? What did you think of the Hitler chapter? (Why am I so excited about taking everyone's innocence from them?)
OLI: yeah u have an unhealthy obsession with lost innocence XD and lord nico learning about hitler was Good(TM)
LISSY: Did you ever put two and two together? I mean, I've been reading these books since the beginning (and I mean BEGINNING) and I didn't realize until a few days before I decided to write a sequel. And I cried myself to sleep that night I was like BABY NO

Credits:
Melody Rose - Author ( .com)
Oli - Beta Reader ( .com)
Suhalia - Beta Reader ( users/milkandtahoney/)

Please comment so I know what you think! See you tomorrow!

Credits:
Melody Rose - Author (Tumblr melody0rose)
Oli - Beta Reader (Tumblr paradoxicalpsychic)
Suhalia - Beta Reader (Archive Of Our Own users/milkandtahoney/)

Please comment so I know what you think! See you tomorrow!

COMMENTS

ShadeFireDragon

Another war? Man, this is crazy XD

Now that Persephone's quest is done, I needed a plot, didn't I? And we always knew the conflict could escalate into a war.