Rising from Shadowed Ashes
GreenCrystal19
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Heroes of Olympus; they belong to respective authors; J.K. Rowling and Rick Riordan. Cover art by Viktoria Ridzel (Viria/viria13/vika) as usual. Her art is amazing; she is now the official portrait artist.
Author's Notes: This will get interesting now. Yay!
Chapter 3: Nico is Offered a Very Nice Stick
Nico's PoV
"You've...been expecting me?" Nico asked.
"Yes," the man said. His eyes shone silver like Artemis', goddess of the moon and the hunt. Nico was not fond of Artemis, to say the least. "My name is Mr. Garrick Ollivander," he said, nodding at a gold plaque on his desk. "I assume you came for your wand?"
"Um..." Nico said, confused. "Sure?"
Ollivander pulled out a silver tape measure. "Right or left handed?"
"Left," Nico said. He could use both hands quite well, but he felt more comfortable with his left hand.*
Ollivander measured his left arm, from hand to shoulder, wrist to shoulder, elbow to shoulder, and so on. Then, he measured in several other odd places: Nico's full height (normal), Nico's hand length (a bit odd), Nico's foot length (is this a wand store or a shoe store?!), and between his eyes (EXTREMELY weird).
After a while, Nico noticed that the tape measure had been measuring by itself; Ollivander had been pulling out boxes and reading the labels, muttering to himself. Nico paused and stared, until the tape measure nudged him again, like COME ON, YOU! I AIN'T GOT ALL DAY! Ollivander continued to pull out boxes. When the tape measure had finally finished its work, Ollivander walked up to Nico and deposited a pile of four or six boxes. "Try these wands first," he advised. "Remember: the wand chooses the wizard. It may take some time."
In my case, it will probably take forever to find a wand, Nico thought. I'm no wizard. Then he remembered how he'd walked into Ollivander's store without even meaning to. Or maybe I am.
Nico tried the first wand: ebony with dragon heartstring. He almost broke Ollivander's desk. "Definitely not!" Ollivander cried, before whipping out anyway their box. "Try this. Ash and unicorn hair."
Nico tried that wand as well, and many others. After a while, Ollivander pulled out another box. "Yew and Phoenix feather."Nico tried it, and set one of Ollivander's shelves on fire. Fortunately, the shelf was empty. "I was positive that was the one!" Ollivander exclaimed. "Hmm...how about this?" He offered. Nico another wand.
Nico, personally, was getting tired of this. It's clear I'm not a wizard; Ollivander should give up already. I don't want to be here all day! Nico took the wand, "black popular and a single thestral tail hair" and waved it half-heartedly; to Nico's surprise, black and silver smoke flew out of the tip of the wand and formed the silhouette of a dark helmet—Hade's Helm of Darkness—before turning transparent and drifting off.
Ollivander's eyebrows shot to the top of his head. "I did not expect that to work," he said. "That wand was not one of my preferred design; a strange wizard comissioned me to make it, paying a fortune. Thestral hair cores are problematic; the wand only works for wizards and witches who can face death."
Nico gave Ollivander a cold smile. "If that is so," he said, "this wand is perfect for me." Losing his smile, Nico said: "I didn't bring any money...do you want me to come back later and pay for it?"
Ollivander shook his head, his face pale. "No," he said. "Professor Dumbledore paid for it. And to be honest...I'm glad to have that wand out of my shop."
Nico's confidence wavered. He held a wand that Ollivander feared-the man who'd apparently dedicated his life to making wands. Once again, Nico was the unlucky one. Once again, he was becoming the one people feared. His face grim and serious yet again, Nico nodded to Ollivander. "Thank-you...for the wand."
"My pleasure," Ollivander said, sounding like he meant it. "Good day."
Nico knew when be wasn't wanted. Besides, Ollivander gave him the creeps. For once, Nico was glad to be outside in the sunlight again.
He'd been in the wand shop for two hours—Diagon Alley was full of wizards and witches, and Nico was hungry. He headed back to his room in the Leaky Cauldron (walking, not shadow-traveling, like Will had insisted) and grabbed his bag of money and school things. It was a black bag, like one you might take to the park or on a hike, and had a strap so you could sling it over one shoulder and still reach what was inside easily. Perfect for lugging books around Hogwarts (which was apparently quite large) or walking around Diagon Alley. Nico took out one of his books—The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 3, by Miranda Goshawk, as well as his wand, and headed back to Diagon Alley.
Even though Nico had never heard of wizards, he was put in year three, as he was thirteen and would turn fourteen on January 28th. Nico would've appreciated that; he didn't need to be in the 11-12 year old class, except for the fact that Harry Potter was also in year three. Which was a pretty big oversight—it was obvious Nico might be here to kill Harry, so why risk having to put Nico in the same dormitory? Nico didn't know. Luckily for Harry, Nico wasn't particularly interested in killing Harry—despite his overwhelmingly evil aura, Harry hadn't exactly done anything to Nico, save eavesdropping. Yet, Nico reminded himself, as he passed under the archway.
As though Nico's thoughts had summoned him, Nico could begin to sense Harry approaching; the slight tingling feeling along Nico's spine turned to a feeling of being hunted by some dangerous monster—a drakon, perhaps. Harry himself walked out of a shop named Gambol and Japes Wizarding Joke Shop, accompanied by his two nosy friends. Ron glared at Nico; Hermione looked worried, but whether she was worried about Nico or about her friends, Nico didn't know. Probably her friends.
Nico ignored them and continued walking, his book tucked under his arm and his wand in his free hand. He noticed a sign that read KNOCKTURN ALLEY; the sign pointed to another street, not quite as wide as Diagon Alley, that was full of dark-looking shops. The whole place was full of shadows; Nico was sure he could find a quiet spot where no one would bother him over there—Nico wanted to see what else his wand could do.
Hades had obviously had it made for Nico; the smoke and Ollivander's comments were evidence of that. But Nico wondered if he could actually use the wand, and if so, what he could do with it. The moment Nico set foot in Knockturn Alley, his death powers started acting up. "Ow," Nico murmured, pressing his hands to his head. There were Dark artifacts everywhere here...and were those human bones Nico could sense? He shivered. Death? That was normal. Human bones? Also normal. Human bones on sale, in a shop? Definitely not normal. Hades would've been annoyed.
Looking up, Nico surveyed his surroundings—there was a shop called Borgin and Burkes, another shop called The Coffin House, and many other dark, shadowy buildings. Skirting the edge of the alley, Nico stayed near the shadows, and since he was a son of Hades this rendered him nearly invisible—it didn't work as well as actively wrapping the shadows around him, but it worked well enough and was less obvious (and took less effort). Nico walked down the alley until he found the perfect spot—a small gap between two shops. A locked door was set against the wall; but Nico summoned a thin sliver of bone, like a needle—what in Hades do the wizards use that for? Nico thought to himself as he saw it—and used the pale needle to pick the lock. Opening the door, Nico walked inside and found a room that was around the size of the Hades cabin, a little smaller.
Boxes of wares were shoved against the sides of the room, and shelves full of what Nico figured were potion ingredients lined the walls. Closing the door behind him, Nico picked up an old lantern and lit it, with an equally old match. Nico sat down on one of the boxes and began to page through his spellbook.
On the first few pages of his book, which must have been blank, was a list of the spells from first and second year, in long, spindly handwriting. Nico decided to start with the basics and read through them.
Body-Binding Curse—Petrificus Totalus. This spells allows the caster to temporarily paralyze the victim. Hard to use on an experienced oppenent, and relatively easy to reverse.
Nico didn't have anyone to try that on, but he thought it sounded quite useful.
Common Counterspell—Finite Incantaten, Finite. Can also be cast nonverbally. This spell can both counter a spell as it is being cast, or cancel/reverse the effects if an ongoing spell. The strength of this spell depends on the skill of the caster; if the spell they are trying to counter was cast by a stronger wizards they can expect little effect.
Nice to know. Nico had a feeling that he'd be using that spell a lot.
Leg-Locking Curse—Locomotor Mortis. This spell binds the legs of the victim together; so they cannot move each leg independently.
That was the one Ron told Harry to use on me, Nico remembered. Good thing I know the counterspell now.
Levitation Charm—Wingardium Leviosa. Causes an item to levitate.
Lumos Charm—Lumos. Creates a bright light at the end of the castor's wand; to extinguish the light, say Nox.
Nico decided that would be a good first spell to try. Picking up his wand, Nico said, "Lumos." Nothing happened. Nico glared at the wand, and putting his willpower into his voice, repeated: "LUMOS." Sure enough, a light burst into existence on the tip of his wand. Nico smiled. A son of Hades, the god of shadows, summoning light. The idea was so ridiculous that Nico laughed out loud, a genuine laugh that he hadn't been able to experience for a long time. And yet here he was, sitting with a light on his wand, in the middle of a world of wizards. Nico smiled—he couldn't wait to see Hazel's face when she found out.
Except Nico wouldn't be seeing Hazel for a long time. And he would never be able to share this with Bianca. Nico's smile disappeared; he said "Nox," and the light extinguished in a flash, as though it was happy to leave. Nico pocketed his wand and grabbed his bag before heading back outside, making sure to lock the door again behind him with his pick.
Opening his book, Nico continued reading as he walked through Diagon Alley; it kept his thoughts away from Hazel and Bianca.
Scouring Charm—Scourgify. Vigorously cleans the target object, which can be a living creature, although this is considered somewhat cruel.
Siphoning Spell—Tergeo. Cleans liquid, dust, or other debris from a target, but gently than the Scouring Charm. Often used to clean wounds.
Unlocking Charm—Alohomora. Will unlock locks; however, most magical locks are enchanted to be impervious, and thus, this charm will not work.
Nico was so absorbed reading the list of spells—he'd already reached year two's—that he didn't even notice Harry until he walked into him, which was odd. Nico could usually sense Harry whenever he was nearby, but apparently he'd managed to sneak up on him. Wait a minute, Nico thought. If Harry heard my conversation with Hazel, he must have been nearby as well. Which means...Harry has a way of hiding himself. Before Nico could puzzle that out, Harry said: "What in the name of Merlin were you doing in Knockturn Alley?"
Ron and Hermione stood next to him. One person sneaking up on me is acceptable, but three? What is going on here?! Nico thought. "Nothing," Nico snapped. Which was true. All he'd done was read and cast a simple spell.
Harry's emerald green eyes narrowed. "You walked into a closet, and you didn't come out for a while. Also, something white appeared out of the ground, and you used it to pick the lock."
"And the needle looked like bone," Hermione added helpfully.
"Yeah," Ron said. "Where'd you get it?"
Nico was extremely shocked. Dumbledore hadn't told them about Nico's powers? Sure, he hadn't shadow traveled or anything. He hadn't even summoned Jules-Albert, or anything else. But even so, Nico thought that it was odd—Dumbledore not even warning Harry.
Nico rolled his eyes, deciding to act condescending. "Bone? That wasn't bone. That was metal. Although it would take a few brain cells to know the difference."
Hermione frowned. "Nico...I got top marks in school, my entire life. I'm probably smarter than you."
Nico cast about desperately for an answer. He didn't find one. Gods of Olympus, I'm schist now.
"How about we have lunch?" Ron said. "I'm hungry. And Hermione can interrogate you more."
"I'm not interrogating him!" Hermione protested.
At the same time, Harry exclaimed: "Spend more time with him? Isn't he the one who supposedly wants to kill me?"
Nico gave him a withering look. "Yeah, because I wanted to go to Hogwarts soooo badly."
Harry shut up. Nico turned to walk away. Hermione stopped him. "Nico, I just want to figure out how to help you get back where you belong!"
Nico looked back at her. "I don't belong anywhere. I never have, and I never will."
Nico turned away so they couldn't see how sad this made him. Ever since Bianca died, I've never been truly happy. Except maybe with Hazel. Sure, Nico had felt happy—but that didn't last long. He'd never been happy—not since Bianca died, when he'd been a small ten-year-old, obsessed with Mythomagic and pirates. Nico fingered the Hades figurine—the price for Bianca's death, which he kept in his pocket. If only she hadn't chosen to be reborn. I could have brought both her and Hazel back.
"Maybe we can change that," Hermione said, breaking Nico out of his thoughts.
Ron snorted. "Why do you want to help him?"
Hermione replied in a quiet voice, thinking that Nico couldn't here her. She was wrong, of course. "If we help him, he can leave sooner."
"I heard that," Nico said.
Harry sighed. "Come on. We'll go to Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlor."
Nico raised an eyebrow. "The ice cream incident place?"
Harry nodded, before shooting Nico an annoyed look. "Yes. The place where you tried to kill me."
Harry's PoV
If you ignored the fact that Nico was there, Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor was a pretty nice place.
For one thing: Harry got them free ice cream.
"I see celebrity status can be useful in the wizarding world as well," Nico said. Harry scowled. "Celebrity status" came with a price—his parents were dead. Why would anyone want to be famous for that?
Ron snorted. "Not that you'd know. Also, are you not from the wizarding world?" He said all of this with ice cream in his mouth.
Nico set aside his lemon sorbet. "Not exactly."
"Nico, where are you from?" Hermione asked. How could she be so civil to him? He'd tried to kill Harry, for goodness' sake!
"New York," Nico said shortly.
Harry blinked, about to ask how in the name of Merlin that could be. But Ron got to it first. He gulped down his mouthful of chocolate ice cream and gasped, "WHAT?"
"I'm from New York."
"But...how did you get here?" Hermione asked.
"None of your business."
Hermione sighed. "If you don't want to talk right now, that's fine. But we need answers."
No, Hermione! We need answers NOW! Harry thought.
"I've been through a lot. I've learned not to trust people," Nico said. Ha, Harry thought. You've probably learned that from your mentor, "Lord" Voldemort. He doesn't trust anyone.
"Harry's been through more, probably," Ron said around his ice cream. "You-Know-Who and all that."
Harry nodded at Ron, thanking his friend for his support. Then, he turned to Nico, waiting for him to respond.
Nico responded by raising an eyebrow at Ron and saying: "I doubt it. Harry has friends. He has people who actually care about him."
Harry fought down a wave of anger. "My parents are dead. Voldemort killed them." Harry glared at Nico. And YOU probably are waiting to kill me, on Voldemort's orders.
Nico set down his spoon. "I'm sorry." Harry blinked, then narrowed his eyes. Nico was probably acting, trying to gain Harry's trust. Although he's been doing pretty badly if that's his strategy.
"You lost someone?" Harry asked bluntly. "Well, I'm sorry, but I spent my entire life being hated or admired because of things I couldn't control, not who I was. What about you?"
Nico's gaze snapped up, his eyes dark, as dark as death itself. "Maybe we're more alike than I thought. I went through the same things—more so than you could ever understand," Nico said. "Thanks for the ice cream."
Nico got up and left. Harry looked at Ron and Hermione. "Follow him?" he asked.
Hermione shook her head. "No. Just leave him alone for a while."
Harry glared at Hermione, his temper rising. Finally, he said: "How can you be nice to him? He's obviously evil, and obviously up to no good! He tried to kill me, Hermione!"
Hermione looked worried. "Yes...he did. But he hasn't tried to since, has he?"
"He sounded like he was planning to!"
Hermione shrugged. "Maybe. But we don't have proof. I think there's something he's not telling us."
"Well, obviously," Ron said. "He's a Dark wizard! My dad's seen Dark artifacts before; his sword matches the descriptions."
Hermione shook her head. "I don't think that's it."
Harry glared at her. "Well, I know that he's up to no good. Let's get back to the Leaky Cauldron. Summer ends in the day after tomorrow; we might as well pack. Besides, if we pack now, we can spend tomorrow investigating Nico."
Hermione sighed. "Anything that can make Harry Potter actually pack is worth doing," she said. "I'm already finished; you could use my help."
Nico's PoV
Nico couldn't believe what he'd heard. Harry had lost his parents. He'd spent his childhood rejected, and according to him, people admired him for that. Nico didn't know if all of that was true; at least Harry had friends, and powerful wizards to help him. Nico had no one to protect him; save Hades, who didn't really count. And Hazel. And also Will. Nico blinked. Where did that thought come from?
Nico shook his head. He fished a drachma out of his pack and grabbed a small glass prism. He was all set for Iris-messaging. Setting up the prism in front of the window, so the rainbow was set against the wall where Will and Hazel had appeared, Nico tossed in the drachma and murmured, "O Iris, goddess of the rainbow, accept my offering. Show me Hazel Levesque."
An image of Hazel flickered into view. She was reading a book in Latin, in her cohort's room. It was the middle of the night. Oops. Well, Nico had messaged, so he might as well talk. "Hi, Hazel," he said. "Sorry for losing my temper last time we talked."
Hazel looked up. "Nico!" she looked delighted. "I have some great news!"
Nico blinked. "Really? What's that?"
"Well, I know a fawn who knows a wind-spirit who knows a harpy who knows another wind-spirit—"
"Could you please get to the point?" Nico asked.
"WE CAN SEND YOU LETTERS! Using the winds! Aeolus agreed to help as repayment for siding with Gaea, among other things."
Nico couldn't help it. He grinned; his facial muscles hurting from the new expression (which was pretty pathetic.) "Really? That's great, Hazel!"
Hazel bounced in her seat. "And Camp Half-Blood can send letters too! So far, Jason, Reyna, and Will have agreed to write once in a while. Oh, and guess what? We picked up a little signal from Festus! Leo may still be alive!"
"Leo? But he died, Hazel! We could sense it!"
Hazel grinned. "Well, we picked up Festus' signal around Florida and set up a homing beacon. If Leo's alive, he should be here soon; if not, Festus will be, at least."
Nico laughed. "Hazel, that's awesome! Oh, and GUESS WHAT I DID."
Hazel smirked. "Got possessed by youre ten-year old self?"
Nico blinked. "...No? But anyways. Watch." Nico brought out his wand and said: "Lumos."
A light flared at the tip of Nico's wand. Hazel gasped, covering her mouth. "You're a wizard? Now we can both do magic!"
Nico grinned again. "Yeah. Hades apparently had this specially made. Maybe he marched up to Hecate and said 'I WILL GIVE YOU 1000 DRACHMAS OR HANG YOU OVER THE RIVER LETHE FOR A CENTURY—THE MONEY IF YOU BLESS MY SON NICO WITH MAGIC, THE LETHE IF YOU DON'T.'"
Hazel snorted with laughter. "Yup. I think Will is starting to resurrect your ten-year old self. Who raises the dead, now, Death Boy?"
Nico smirked. "But that's not all. The son of darkness, creating light, in the middle of a school full of British wizards who drink pumpkin juice and use owls to send mail."
Hazel blinked. "They use owls? Do you want one?"
Nico shrugged. "They wouldn't like me."
"A screech owl might."
"They're noisy. I wouldn't get any sleep."
"Oh Nico," Hazel said. "Back to your old self."
Nico put on a gloomy face. "Yup," he said, before smirking again. "But a bird would be cool."
"I know! What about a raven? I had a conversation with one before I...before I died. They're symbols of death; maybe they'll like you."
"That's a pretty good idea," Nico said. A raven. Sitting on my shoulder. The Pirate of Death—all I need is a nice boat and—SHUT UP, NICO. YOU ARE NOT A PIRATE. "I'll check the pet store," he said.
Hazel smiled again. "I've gotta go, Nico," Hazel said, yawning. "There's legion training tomorrow, so I need sleep."
"I'll talk to you later. But the day after tomorrow, we go to Hogwarts, so I'll write more than I can IM."
"That's fine. Bye!"
"Bye." Nico waved his hand through the mist, cutting off the connection. Still smiling, he walked downstairs. Seeing Harry, Ron, and Hermione, Nico for once didn't immediately feel resentful. Although Harry was still giving off that disturbing aura. Nico nodded at them before walking outside, barely able to control his grin. He knew that he probably had been smirking.
Nico found a pet store: The Magical Menagerie.
He could see that the store sold more than owls; there were cats, rats, toads, a bat or two, and even stranger things. Nico walked in, the little bell on the door jingling. Every animal in the store hooted, screeched, or hissed at the sight of him, and Nico's good mood deflated. Even animals hate me, he thought sadly.
"What in Merlin's name is wrong with you? Get out!" The man behind the counter said.
Nico winced. "I—"
That was when the raven came at Nico and landed on his arm. Nico had been holding the door open; he'd expected the animals' reactions and hadn't let it close, ready to dart out before he could get clawed to bits. The raven had soared down from the rafters and perched on Nico's arm.
She cocked her head and cawed at him; Nico could understand her meaning, even though she didn't speak in words. She meant something like: You're interesting. Then, to the general public: This human is mine! I claim him!
"Hello," Nico said, scratching the raven under her chin, like a cat. She liked it. The other animals had quieted down; they must have decided that as long as Nico was ignoring them, and the raven was distracting him, they would be safe. Although they still looked awfully tense.
Nico started again. "I'd like to purchase this raven."
The salesmen huffed. "That would be seven galleons. And don't come back!"
"I won't," Nico said, giving him the money. Nico could sense that this raven was magical; she could shadow-travel herself and small objects if necessary; or at least, she should be able to. After purchasing the raven and thanking the salesman, Nico quickly left the store and headed back to the Leaky Cauldron.
"My name's Nico di Angelo," Nico told the raven.
The raven cocked her head. "Nico," she said. Nico was so startled he almost dropped her. The raven flapped her wings and let out an angry caw.
"You talk? I mean, Hazel told me ravens could, but Holy Hades, that was fast."
"Nico," the raven repeated. Her voice was raspy and still sounded bird-like; but it was clear what she was trying to say. Like a black parrot, Nico thought, before he could stop himself.
"I'll call you Ambra," Nico decided. "Like the Italian word for shadow, ombra, but prettier."
"Ambra," Ambra agreed. "Nico."
"That's right," Nico said. "Now, come meet my buddies."
Ambra cawed. Nico smirked. He couldn't wait to see Harry's face. In the back of his mind, Nico wondered how they'd react if he came in wearing an eyepatch and shouting "ARGH, MATEYS!" Well, British people do say "mate" instead of "friend," Nico thought. But I am NOT wearing an eyepatch or saying "ARGH."
Ambra let out a soft caw and nibbled Nico's ear affectionately. Her beak was sharp, like obsidian. "Ow," Nico said. "Please don't."
Ambra gave him a last nip, before she hopped up onto Nico's shoulder and perched there, surveying the world like, Take THAT ye ugly owls! I am a RAVEN, and I have a nice demigod here! He's better than YOUR boring humans, that's for sure!
Nico smiled at the thought. He walked back into the Leaky Cauldron. Harry, Ron and Hermione stared. Nico almost smiled at their expressions. Almost. Hermione looked like an owl, her brown eyes almost as wide, Ron looked almost jealous (from what Nico could figure, he couldn't afford a bird) and Harry looked like he'd been slapped. His white owl (Hedwig, if Nico remembered correctly—what kind of a name was Hedwig, anyways?) had a similar expression.
Ambra cawed at Hedwig. Hedwig screeched and flapped her white wings. Ambra launched herself off Nico's shoulder; flapping over Harry's head and cawing what Nico figured were raven curses at Hedwig. Hedwig responded by flapping up and diving at Ambra.
Nico decided to intervene before the birds hurt each other. "Ambra!" Ambra looked at him and cawed, like, Sorry Nico. I've gotta protect my dignity and show this owl who's boss. Nico sighed. He really didn't want to, but he didn't really have a choice. The raven and the snowy owl were already going at it—Hedwig tried to catch Ambra's wing in her talons; Ambra attempted to bite Hedwig's beak off.
Nico took a running start and jumped about five feet into the air, before grabbing Ambra and tugging her back down by one talon. She cawed in protest; Hedwig started hooting triumphantly before flapping back down to perch on Harry's head. Harry did not look comfortable with the situation.
"Hedwig—stop tearing my hair out!—and get off my head!"
Ambra was still trying to get out of Nico's hands. She pecked and scratched, but Nico kept holding her. "Calm down!" he hissed. "I'll let you go, but don't go fighting any more owls!"
Ambra stayed still. Nico let her go, and with a last angry caw, she flapped out an open window. Hedwig got off Harry's head and flapped after her. Nico watched them fly off with a resigned expression, his hands scratched up and bleeding. "Thanks, Ambra," he muttered to himself. "Really feeling the love over here."
Harry blinked. "Your bird—just tried-to kill my owl," he said, rubbing his head.
"My bird has some ego issues. As far as I can tell, she thinks that she is perfect, and everyone else is a pile of schist."
"Like you?"
Nico glared at Harry. "I'll go get her. Maybe I can talk some sense into her."
Harry blinked. "She understands you?"
"Usually."
Hermione looked like Annabeth when she was thinking—her eyes had that distant measuring look. "Hang on...you couldn't understand Hedwig, could you?"
Nico shook his head slowly. "...No..."
"Then...why could you understand ravens?"
Oh schist. Ravens were a symbol of death—and Nico was painstakingly obvious. The silver skull ring, the skull-and-bones T-shirt, the bone needle...sooner or later, Hermione would figure out his secret. And when she did, Nico would need to be ready.
Angry cawing and hooting drifted in from somewhere outside. "Bye." Nico ran out the door.
Two days later, Nico was eating a hurried breakfast at the Leaky Cauldron, having just packed. When he said "pack," he meant: cramming his clothes into his backpack, and cramming his school supplies into his bag. Harry, Ron, and Hermione came downstairs with either suitcases or trunks; Hermione carried a basket as well. Angry meows were coming from the basket; Hermione's new cat, Crookshanks, did not like his basket. Or Nico, for that matter. Harry looked troubled about something*. When they saw Nico's supplies, just a bag and a backpack, both black, they looked somewhat surprised.
"That's it?" Ron asked. "That's all you own?"
Nico shrugged. "Pretty much. I left the rest behind in New York." Nico looked back down at the sleeves of his aviator's jacket.
Ron looked shocked. Nico wanted them to leave him alone; he dropped another hint. "I'm a bit tired. Didn't get much sleep. If you don't mind..."
"How come you didn't get much sleep?" Harry asked.
Nico was saved the trouble to respond when Ron's parents walked in. "We'll be taking some Ministry rental cars," Mrs. Weasley said.
Nico didn't feel like using the cars. "I have my own way."
Mrs. Weasley blinked. "What? No! You're to use the cars like the rest of us!"
Nico sighed. He would do what he had to. His plan had been to summon Jules-Albert, but that wouldn't work now. Nico slipped into one pf the two dark-green Ministry cars, and, the minute no one was looking at him, he shadow-traveled to a small alley in London he'd noticed. Then, Nico summoned Jules-Albert. His zombie driver. Hades had given Nico Jules-Albert as a birthday present; he'd had this "idea" that Jules-Albert could drive Nico around like a mortal dad would. Oh, and just to be clear: Jules-Albert did not look human. He also drove a black limo.
Nico got in the limo. "Please take me close to King's Cross Station, so I can shadow travel the last bit."
Jules-Albert nodded and drove off, weaving through the city streets with extreme patience—he never got road-rage. You could be stuck in traffic for days, and Jules-Albert would just keep driving, a pleasantly neutral expression on his face. When Nico could see King's Cross between some of the other buildings, he said: "This is okay, Jules."
The zombie nodded. Nico steeled his resolve and shadow traveled into the station. He had a temporary wave of dizziness—he hadn't yet recovered from Tartarus, the jar, the Athena Parthenos, and the recent jump across the Atlantic. There were several platforms; Nico walked to the ones marked "9" and "10." He'd asked how they got to Hogwarts; Hermione had explained that they took a train from "Platform 9 3/4." To get to that platform, you walked into the wall marking the barrier between platforms 9 and 10.
Nico had had experience walking into walls. It wasn't fun. Carefully, he walked to the wall and rested his hand against it; his hand went straight through, and this time, it was the wall turning insubstantial, not his arm. Nico walked through and emerged onto a platform bustling with wizards, witches, and Hogwarts students wearing their robes.
Nico had been fitted for robes; although he didn't plan on wearing his. Even though they were black, Nico felt more comfortable in his aviator's jacket. There were also school shirts, but Nico definitely wasn't wearing those unless he had to. Nico headed aboard the train, found an empty compartment, and stowed his stuff in the overhead luggage rack. He then flopped down on one of the bench/booth/couch things (there were two per compartment, with a small table thing next to the windows, still tired from his two shadow-jumps.
And then, before he knew it, Nico fell asleep.
Harry's PoV
Nico was missing. They didn't notice that until after the ride. Harry could have sworn that he'd entered their car, but when they'd gotten in, he wasn't there. The Weasleys figured he must be in the other car. It wasn't until they reached the entrance to Platform 3/4 Quarters that they realized Nico was missing.
"I didn't see him in our car," Ginny said.
"He wasn't in ours," Ron replied. "Good riddance."
"Ron!" Mrs. Weasley scolded. "He's missing, for goodness' sake!"
"He said he had his own way," Harry said.
Mrs. Weasley sighed irritably. "Very well," she said. "You go ahead and see if he's on the train. If he is, one of you come back and tell me. If not...tell me that, too."
Nico was up to no good, no doubt, Harry thought. He'd gotten a Sneakoscope from Diagon Alley; Ron had suggested it. However, Harry hadn't been able to test it around Nico yet. Taking it out of his trunk's outer pocket, Harry decided this was a good chance to try.
Harry lugged his trunk aboard the train and checked the compartments. He found Nico in an empty one near the end of the train. Well...almost empty. A man was sleeping in the shadows under the luggage rack; his clothes were shabby, and he looked quite exhausted; as he was asleep. Nico, meanwhile, was slumped against the window...also asleep. Harry figured Nico hadn't noticed the man—Nico would never fall asleep in the same room as someone he didn't know. Even Harry could tell that much.
"Who's that?" Ron asked curiously.
Harry jumped. "Don't sneak up on me like that! Also, I found Nico. He's..."
"Asleep," Hermione noted. "Also, that man's name is R.J. Lupin."
"What? How d'know?"
"It's on his case," Hermione whispered, pointing. Professor R.J. Lupin was stamped on the case in faded bronze letters; the case was held together by lots of neatly knotted string.
"What's he teach?" Harry asked.
"Probably D.A.D.A; it's the only vacant post," Ron said.
"Nico doesn't look too good," Hermione noted, surveying the compartment.
She was right. Nico, now that Harry took a closer look at him when he wasn't constantly moving around, was thin and, while his skin was olive-toned, it was also very pale. Dark shadows sat under Nico's eyes, as though he didn't sleep well, if at all.
"What's wrong with him?" Harry asked.
Ron shrugged. "Dunno. Honestly, don't care."
"Ron!" Hermione said.
"What?" he asked.
Hermione sighed. "Well, I'll go tell Mrs. Weasley that Nico's okay. You guys stay here in case anything happens."
"Alone?" Harry and Ron said at the same time.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Yes, alone," she said. "You'll be fine. Nico probably won't wake up any time soon."
The moment Hermione left, Nico stirred, proving her wrong. Harry wondered if he'd been faking it. Probably. Nico then jumped to his feet and activated his sword. "Get—get away!" he said, a faraway look in his eyes. Professor Lupin, of course, slept through this all. Some teacher.
"Nico!" Harry said. "What are you doing?"
Nico's gaze refocused. He slumped in relief. "Oh. It's just you." Nico stiffened again, looking around warily. Then, he sheafed his sword again and sat down. "So. Hogwarts. How does it work?"
Warily, Ron and Harry sat, on the other bench. "Well, you're sorted into four houses. Me, Ron, and Hermione are in-"
"It's Ron, Hermione and I, Harry," Hermione said, walking in. "Nico? You're awake already?"
Nico nodded, then noticed Lupin. "Who's that?" he asked.
"He was in there when I arrived," Harry said. "Asleep. I'm assuming you didn't notice him.
Nico looked somewhat embarrassed. He shook his head. "But anyways...houses?"
Ron nodded. "Yeah. Harry, Hermione, and I are in Gryffindor, the best house! The brave, noble, daring house!"
"The house with an ego," Nico muttered.
Ron frowned at him before saying: "Then there's Ravenclaw, the house for the smart people, and people who think outside the box. Hufflepuff is kind of the house for the people who don't fit with the other three-"
"So, me," Nico muttered.
"It's also the house for loyal and hard-working people," Hermione interjected.
"Right," Ron said. "And Slytherin is for evil prats who try to kill people-"
"Ron!" Hermione snapped. Turning back to Nico, she added: "Slytherin is the house for the cunning and ambitious, and does harbor a lot of Dark wizards—"
Harry and Ron looked at Nico meaningfully.
"—but also has housed some very famous wizards, like Merlin."
"Huh. How are you sorted?" Nico asked. "A test?"
"Of sorts," Hermione said, getting excited. "You put on a hat called the Sorting Hat. It decides what house you should be in, and once you're sorted, you can earn house points, but also can lose them if you break the rules—Nico?"
Nico was snoring now, leaning against the window.
"Ohhh-kay then," Harry muttered. "You've got a real attentive audience, Hermione."
Hermione looked worried. "That can not be normal," she said.
Harry and Ron stared. Ron shrugged. "He'll be fine."
"Yeah," Harry agreed. "We're not that lucky."
Hermione scowled, but sat across from Ron and Harry, near Nico, and looked out the window.
"Er..." Harry started. "This may not be a good time, but Mr. Weasley told me that Sirius Black was after me."
"What?" Hermione and Ron said simultaneously.
"I overheard him talking about it last night, and then before the train left, he told me not to go looking for Black, no matter what happened."
Hermione looked worried. "Harry, you'll be careful, right?"
Harry nodded. Of course he'd be careful. "I doubt Black could make it into Hogwarts anyways," Harry said.
"He escaped from Azkaban," Ron said. "There's no telling what he can do. Also, we have this guy to worry about; maybe they're helping each other." Ron jerked his head at Nico.
Hermione looked like she was thinking. The trio was silent for a while.
The trolly witch came by; Harry and Ron got their usual sweets: Licorice wands and Cauldron Cakes, Chocolate Frogs, Peppermint Imps...the likes. They munched on their food, enjoying the scenery, until Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle came along.
"Well look who it is," Malfoy drawled. "Potty and the Weasel." Crabbe and Goyle chuckled. "I heard your father finally got his hands on some gold this summer, Weasley. Did your mother die of shock?"
Ron stood up; Crookshank's basket fell to the floor; Crookshanks leapt up and immediately tried to claw Nico's face off. Hermione lunged and grabbed him; holding the angry cat back so he would't cause mass panic.
"Who's that?" Malfoy asked, eyeing Nico. "And that?" he asked again, spotting Lupin.
"New teacher," Ron said, nodding at Professor Lupin. "New student," he added, indicating Nico.
Malfoy's gray eyes narrowed; but he wasn't that stupid: picking fights with a teacher in the room. "C'mon," he muttered to Crabbe and Goyle, before turning and leaving.
The group sat down again, Hermione calming Crookshanks down. "He's not that bad, Crookshanks," she said. Crookshanks sniffed the air and growled, but decided to leave Nico alone and turn his attention to Ron's rat, Scabbers, who he hated—Harry didn't have a clue why. Cats were cats.
Speaking of pets, Harry hadn't seen Nico's raven since that morning. He wondered where she'd gone. Hedwig was in her cage with Harry's luggage; he wondered if Nico had returned the bird.
Ron broke Harry out of his thoughts. "I'm not going to take any crap from Malfoy this year," he said angrily. "I mean it. If he makes one more crack about my family, I'm going to get hold of his head and—" Ron made a violent gesture in midair.
"Ron!" Hermione scolded. She was about to continue: "Be care—"
But that was when the lights flickered. The train drew to a halt, and the air around them steamed with cold. Nico was asleep...which meant whatever was doing this wasn't Nico. Something else was on the train.
Author's Notes: Well, they already read Prisoner of Azkaban, so it's not like this counts as a cliffhanger or anything—
Reviewers: WHY DID YOU END ON A CLIFFHANGER!?
Me: ...
On to the author's notes...
Well, I hoped you liked that! I promise: dementors will be in next chapter. And sometime after that: Professor Trelawney's crazy death omens, and Boggarts! Oh, and SORTING! Yay!
*Since the land of the dead is to the west, which is leftwards, I made Nico left-handed. Also, people used to think left-handedness meant that someone was possessed by the devil (or at least, the War that Saved My Life said so.) So it seemed fitting that Nico was better with his left hand; however, his right hand isn't far behind, so he is ALMOST ambidextrous.
*What Harry was troubled about was hearing that Sirius Black would probably come after him.
And yes, ravens can talk. In real life. Although this one is probably a bit more intelligent than most. Also, olive skin, is, from what I heard, skin with more of a brown/olive undertone, rather than pink. It could probably be pale.
GAH THIS IS EVEN LONGER THAN THE LAST CHAPTER! 7000 WORDS WAT HOW-
