Will held Nico's hand while walking behind Hermione, the cute tuxedo they'd boughten safely snuggled against Nico's chest asleep. Their carts were brought with them, housing their suitcases too. They looked for a compartment, Nico scowling at the amount of people around. Will gave Nico's hand a slight squeeze, glancing at his husband and checking on him. Nico gave him a nod, consoling Will silently and making him look back towards Hermione. She however, was gone, sitting in a compartment with two others, a blond reading an upsidedown magazine and a nervous boy who held his toad on his lap. Nico tugged on Will's arm, silently requesting they keep looking, which Will definitely didn't mind. It was too packed in the compartment and they weren't sure their bags would fit, so they looked for an empty compartment, immediately sitting down when they found one.

Sitting beside each other and holding hands while petting Nico's kitten, they enjoyed each other's presence, all of them ending up asleep. Nico was snuggled into Will's side and Will's head rested against the back of the compartment, causing him to snore quietly. They stayed like that for a while, completely missing when a boy entered, another one soon joining them before the two younger males struck up a conversation.

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"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one." The voice was familiar, loud as Will woke up with a wince. His chest ached and he looked at Hermione, who had opened the compartment to ask for help.

"Are you doing magic? Let's see it then!" Hermione perked up, looking as excited as she had when helping them at the bookstore. Will looked in the direction she was looking, tensing at the sight of two kids across from him and Nico. Instinctively, he pulled his prince of darkness closer, making him whine in his sleep. Will let go and gently brushed hair from his face before rubbing his own eyes, missing as the redhead in front of him flung about his wand, spouting off a rhythmic scheme. It made Will laugh, especially when Hermione interjected with a hurried, "That's not a real spell."

The kitten jumped into the table suddenly, hissing at the rat that sat in the kid's hands. Nico opened an eye, carefully grabbing his pet when he saw what she was doing and lifting her up in the air so she couldn't escape her scolding. "No Bianca! Bad kitten."

Will pet Bianca's fur after Nico set her down on his lap, snuggling back into his spot against Will's side, the small Italian completely ignoring the angry cries on the kid across from him.

"Let him sleep please, he's tired..." Will explained, kissing Nico's temple affectionately when he got the chance, grinning when he blushed.

"Oh... Are you two together?" The redhead looked confused and curious, looking at Will and Nico in slight discomfort.

"He's my husband, we're late magic bloomers..." Will answered, he did his best to be polite and understanding, but given the accident from a few days ago he was skeptical and over protective of Nico.

"Got it." Will tilted his head, a vaguely threatening look on his face when his eyebrows narrowed and he frowned slightly.

"Have a problem with that?"

"Nope! We Weasleys are super welcoming!" Will forced himself not to scoff, nodding at the kid, Weasley or whatever.

"Di Angelo, or Solace." Will replied, he didn't know if he liked the redheaded kid, he reminded Will of the Hermes kids back at camp.

"Er- I'm Harry Potter." The kid beside the miniature Hermes kid was anxious, clearly showing signs of malnutrition and the scars on his face didn't help. It made Will frown, it reminded him of the first time Percy got to camp. He had no clue who Harry Potter was, but he was definitely going to help the kid in whatever way he could.

"Hello Harry, Weasley, Hermione." The muggleborn girl looked at Will, smiling from her spot of leaning against the table. The compartments were small, which was uncomfortable and it made Will nervous.

"It's Ron actually, not Weasley." Will rose an eyebrow, nodding at the correction. He didn't really care, since he was loud and kind of annoying already. They went on in the train ride in relative silence, talking quietly to each other as Bianca and Nico napped in the comfortable seat beside Will. The healer didn't seem to mind being used as a bed.

————

After introductions, they got comfortable again, talking with each other and reading. Will was quiet, watching Nico sleep and petting Bianca. Hermione brought her cat out too and Will, the ever present Apollo kid got excited when Bianca jumped from Nico's lap to introduce herself. Hermione explained that Crookshanks was half Kneezle, leaving Will both amused and very confused.

The train ride was pleasant, but it was over too fast, leaving the group to get changed. But Will of course gently shook Nico to get him up, the two specifically not getting dressed in their robes. They'd find another way to represent their school in a different way. Plus, Will didn't know how well the robes would hide his body, And he didn't want to answer any questions about why he looked so feminine. Nico wouldn't have minded, since he had to wear uniforms in the past, but swordfighting in robes was going to be difficult, so he didn't want to risk it. They'd both just wear the formal clothes.

Once everyone was back in the compartment and reasonably dressed in their uniforms, they waited until the train was at the station till getting out, their small group convinced to leave their stuff by Ron, but Nico and Will both kept bag of their things close. Nico refused to let go of Bianca after she snuggled into the wide pocket on Will's hoodie. The first years were meant to go to boats, which gave Nico severe anxiety. Will, knowing about Nico's anxiety about his uncle's plains, held his hand, gently guiding him into the boat. He reminded Nico about his deal with Percy, when he'd asked his father to let Nico stay safe around water, so he wouldn't be afraid anymore. It was sweet, and really helpful when they had to get into any sort of water for quests. Jason had done the same, since he thought of Nico as a little brother. It was something most of the seven could agreed on. Nico was definitely the little brother.

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With obvious anxiety, Nico and Will rode across the lake, admiring the lake and the castle that stood atop it on the land. Both were beautiful, and they had a feeling that Percy and Annabeth both would enjoy this place. It reminded them a lot of New Rome, though the fact that the school was made in a castle was gloomier than Will thought the city of New Rome could be. Nico, however, laughed when he mentioned that, walking with his husband and the other first years to the front entrance of the castle. Nico wished Will would've let him shadow travel them to the top, since they had to go up so many stairs. But Will refused, worried about his health and if someone caught them. Nico's anxiety was a big part of their travel to the castle, from the water, to the half giant guide. But the guy seemed so nice that Nico ended up feeling bad for his momentary flashbacks. Will of course, reassured him that it was perfectly ok to feel like this, and suggested that they try to befriend the man. They looked at the two boys, Harry, and a blond that reminded Nico too much of Octavian in personality. Will scowled a little, recognizing the kid as the one to insult them in diagon Alley. He was usually a very kind demi god, but he'd never let anyone get away with insulting his husband, or himself. That kid was officially on his shit list, especially when he noticed how rude he was to Harry and that Ron kid. Sure, the boy was a bit of a jerk when he didn't mean to be, but he liked Ron reasonably well despite just meeting him earlier. So, Will stepped up to defend them, leaving Nico standing there in confusion, a few inches taller than the first years, while Will was quite taller, almost towering over the short blond.

"Hey, buddy. I know you're trying to be friendly with Harry here. But threatening isn't the way to go." Will was trying to remain calm, a practiced smile on his face that made Nico giggle, since he knew what was coming. Will was angry, he could tell by his accent becoming more apparent, and it was so beautiful to hear.

"I wasn't talking to you, why don't you run back home to America, you southern freak?"

"Mr. Malfoy!" The voice cut through their dispute easily, making the blond, Malfoy, pale as he looked away from Will, Ron, and Harry. A stern frown appeared on the teachers face, her robes a beautiful green and her hat black, like her eyes. Her glasses were wire frame, resting on her nose. She looked like a predatory bird as she looked at the kid, before turning to Will and softening her expression, gazing back at the other first years.

"Welcome children, to Hogwarts!"