I honestly don't know where I'm going with this. so bear we me.
WARNING! Graphic depictions of self harm. I like details so, if you wish to keep your food in your stomach I suggest skipping this part. I will tell you when its safe.
Chapter 3: a proposition
Nico's POV
I was in the corner, blood dripping slowly down my left arm. I raised my stygian iron dagger, and pulled it down my arm again. pain. bliss. I started counting,
1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10
I dragged it down my arm again.
1...2...3...
I heard a knock on the door.
"Merda" I cussed. I quickly grabbed the towel my mom gave me, and ran it down my arm. instantly the cuts healed themselves, and the only evidence was the five new scars that my jacket covered. "come in" I called. Nyx entered. I breathed a sigh of relief, then my breath caught: you could still smell the blood...
"Nico" she scolded. I looked at the floor. "well, I just had an interesting talk with Apollo" I started, and stared at her. she...told...him...? my brain was trying to catch up.
"What?" is all I could manage. she smiled softly.
"I didn't tell him" my shoulders relaxed. "I made him swear on the house of night as well, all I asked is if there was a cure" I felt the shame start to rise. tears coming to my eyes. she noticed, and put an arm around my shoulders.
"and?" I asked hopelessness in my voice. she squeezed me a little.
"well, the only cure is time. but there are a few things to help" I was interested. I pulled out of her hug
"what are they?" she reached into her pocket and pulled out a...marker? she noticed my confusion, and chuckled a little
"he said that drawing on your arm reduces stress" I took the marker, and pulled up my right sleeve because it had less scars. I uncapped the marker, and started drawing swirls. it actually did help a little.
"thanks mamma" I told her. she hugged me. I stiffened. I still don't like physical contact. she pulled away.
(ok, you are safe from the details now)
"Well, that's not all I wanted to talk to you about" I stopped drawing, and looked up at her. she sighed "now, I know you don't mind Tartarus, but I feel like I'm keeping you from something. you should have friends, and a life" I shivered inwardly at the mention of friends.
"perché mamma? Sono felice quaggiù." my Italian side comes out sometimes
"I know you're happy son. but it would help heal the rift those campers made" she spat the word campers.
"well, what did you have in mind?" I was going to humor her far a while.
"I talked to Hecate recently, and she told me that there is a world of wizards. now, these wizards are blessed by Hecate, and the other gods have no control over them. as a primordial, I can still interact with you, but the gods will not be able to sense you, or come there. also, they are under attack from a dark wizard who goes by the name of Voldemort" I bust out laughing.
"my French is a little rusty, but doesn't that mean 'flight of death?' this guy must be out of his mind!" Nyx nodded.
"yes, you see, he has cheated death, not once, but twice now. his followers call themselves 'death eaters' I don't believe they are referring to Thanatos" I still chuckled.
"so, I'm going with they don't know about demigods" she nodded
"yes, and Hecate would like to keep it that was" it was my turn to nod.
"well, when do I go?" she looked at me with admiration in her eyes.
"well, you would be in your sixth year, you N.E.W.T. level, so you have to study first" I cringed, the blessing took away some of my dyslexia, but the fact that English wasn't my first language made mine even more potent.
"um, what about the fact that I accidently spew magic every now and then?" she smiled
"that is considered normal in the wizarding world" wow. they were even crazier than I thought. I'll fit right in.
"and my...problem?" I asked. she frowned
"try not to as much as you can. if you have too, do it where no one can see" I figured as much.
"ok, so where do I get books on how to be a wizard?"
"Hecate gave all the books a first through fifth year would have read. they are all in greek so you don't have to worry about your dyslexia" she waved her hand and a black trunk appeared.
"thanks. um, how long do I have?" she smiled
"A long as you need. I can control some level of time in the pit, so you will have enough time to do your O.W.L.s they're the tests you take to see which N.E.W.T.s you can do"
some time later
I was finally done with my 'whos' or whatever they were called. I had passed all of the classes. my *insert fancy name for report card here* came in, and these are the results:
Transfiguration- O (weird. I thought I did terrible...)
Potions- O (that's given)
Herbology- A (plants hate me)
Care of Magical Creatures- A (they hate me too)
Defense Against the Dark Arts- O (I am the dark arts, dammit)
Divination- A (I've had my fair share of prophesies, so I'm good thanks.)
Charms- E (why do they make the spells so hard to remember?)
Arithmancy- E (it was really boring)
Ancient Runes- O (duh)
Overall not bad. I was exited to go to pig's-warms, or something like that. the train left tomorrow (real time. not here time) and I would go there on it, as an exchange student from Italy. mostly because of my accent. all my things were packed, and my wand was on my nightstand. oh, did I forget to mention that? it's yew wood, 13 inches long with a core of, um. it was literally a core of shadows, and a dementor's cloak. overall, a very dark wand. perfect for dark magic. I heard a knock
"come in!" I called. my sister came in. Eleatos. she is one of the less know children of Nyx. (no, I made her up)
"are you finished packing?" she asked me. she is the goddess of comforting tears. a multi sided goddess you could say. she can comfort you, or make you feel worse than you already do.
"yeah, I finished a while ago" I looked at her. "um, could you..?" she understood. she came over and put her hand in mine. I felt the tears fall, but it helped instead of hurting.
"are you sure you want to go?" I looked at her.
"no. but momma wants me too. you wouldn't get it because you're a goddess. but I'm mortal. well, partly. and I only get to live once. you die, you reform. I die, I rebirth with no memories" she nodded in understanding. there was knock on the door. I stood, and she followed
"enter" Nyx came in "oh, hi mamma"
"hello children. Nico, are you done packing?" I nodded "ok, you have to be there in fifteen minutes, so you need to say goodbye to all your sisters" I left, and said goodbye to every one. I came back to my room, to see that they were both still there.
"...think this is a good idea?" Eleatos asked.
"yes. he needs to make some friends. he needs a new environment, were no one will judge him for being different. and no one will ask questions because it's normal. also, he is the only one who can defeat this voldy guy" I chose that moment to enter.
"oh, hi mom, hey sis. um, it's time right?" Nyx nodded.
"yes my son. be careful, and if you tell anyone, make them swear on the house of night" I nodded. and dissolved into the shadows.
I came out at a train station. I reached into my pocket, and grabbed my train ticket. it was torture trying to read it. I flipped it over, and found that Nyx had written the greek translation on the back. I read it, then I read it again. platform 9 3/4? the ADHD part of my brain wondered why it wasn't 9 1/2. I looked around, I had come out right next to platform 7. I went to 9 and 10. there was no 9 3/4. just 9 and 10. Hecate loved tricking people didn't she.
"Sirius. stop chasing cats" a woman with vibrant red hair told a dog so big it could have passed for a small hellhound. the group of people was a weird one. three boys and one girl all with red hair, one girl with frizzy brown hair, and a boy with jet black hair. the adults of the group were even weirder. there was an older man with a wooden leg, and a fake eye that was zipping in its socket, a man who was definitely a lycon, a woman with bright pink hair, and the dog of course.
"hurry now Harry" the man with the eyeball said. 'Harry' must have been the one with black hair because 'eyeball' grabbed his arm and marched him to the barrier between the platforms. I watched closely. they leaned against it, and then they vanished. it has to be a magic wall. they must be students I realized. I went up to the witch.
"um, excuse me" I said. she turned and gave me a one over
"yes?" she asked clearly impatient.
"well, I was wondering if that wall..." her eyes grew big, and she pulled out a stick -wand I corrected myself- and pointed it at my face.
"what did you see?" she asked. I didn't even flinch. this was so normal.
"well, I was wondering if you were going to Hogwarts too, but then you decided to point your wand into my face" it came out with my very defined Italian accent.
"and why do you care?" she asked. so much for being friendly.
"because I'm a student from Italy, and I am doing my N.E.W.T. year at Hogwarts" I replied icy. she dropped her hand.
"oh! I'm sorry. you can't be too careful these days" I nodded
"I know. so, um, the barrier?"
"yes. just walk straight through it, and you'll get to the express" I nodded my thanks and walked towards it. the rest of her little group had already gone through. I walked straight at it, and closed my eyes. I passed through, on the other side, a sight to see greeted my eyes; a bright scarlet train was waiting. I looked at my watch, I only had two minutes. I went to the train lugging my trunk, found a compartment that was empty, and put my things in it. then I changed clothes. I didn't want to have to change in front of other people. I slipped on my dark grey robes, and a deep black cloak. I pulled the hood over my face, and sat next to the window facing away from the door. two minutes later, I heard the engine start to life, and I was off. the door to the compartment slid open.
"do you mind if I sit here?" a boy asked. I turned to look at him. he had pale skin, and pale blond hair. his expression and demeanor screamed aristocrat, or more likely, a son of one. he was alone. odd. usually they had some goons with them to enforce things.
"go ahead"
Draco's POV
Draco was not having a good day. he hadn't gotten much sleep because he was up all night worrying about the new mark on his arm. and then his father told him that the Dark lord expected HIM to kill Dumbledore. DUMBLEDORE. he couldn't kill him! Dumbledore was one of the most powerful wizards ever, if not the most! and he was only a sixteen year old! but, that was quickly driven from his mind, when his father announced something else. there was an exchange student from Italy, and the Dark lord wanted Draco to befriend him. not intimidate. befriend. he was such a goner. but maybe luck was on his side that day, because he found the exchange student alone in a compartment near the end of the train.
"do you mind if I sit here?" he asked in what he hoped was a friendly voice. he had come alone. the stranger looked at him, but Draco couldn't see what he looked like because he was wearing a pitch black cloak that covered his face.
"go ahead" he replied after a moment. Draco sat. there was a few minutes of akward silence. Draco decided to break it
"um, so, my name's Draco" he tried. the student didn't move. after a few seconds he replied
"I'm Nico"
"well, uh, hi" he said lamely. this elicited a chuckle from Nico.
"hello. so, are you in your N.E.W.T. year too?"
"yeah. I'm taking: Potions, Herbology, Transfiguration, DADA, and Charms" Draco said proudly.
"oh, I think I'm taking: Potions, Transfiguration, DADA, and Charms too, I'm also taking Ancient Runes" wow. he got some O.W.L.s too.
"good job man" Nico just sat there. "um, not to be rude or anything, but do you ever take your cloak off?" he asked sincerely curious. this caused the transfer student to chuckle darkly.
"yes. I do" Nico stood up, and undid the fastenings on his cloak. he then pulled it off, and set it on the seat. he had pitch black hair, olive toned skin that was weirdly pale, and his eyes were so dark they appeared to be black as well. but the thing is, they had a ring of purple next to the irises. he was well built, but skinny. and he had scars that ran down his face, and on his neck. Draco pointed to one such scar that ran from his right eyebrow to his chin.
"what happened?" he seemed to curl inward slightly
"a fight" Draco believed him. his voice held so much pain and suffering, it would be impossible not too.
"um, with what?" Nico gave him a small glare, but it was still enough to send shivers down his spine.
"something that really didn't like me"
"I'm sorry, that was personal. I shouldn't have asked" Draco said trying to rectify the situation.
"you're right. it was personal" there was an odd moment of silence "but, I don't blame you. after all, anyone would be curious" he breathed a sigh of relief. Nico wasn't mad, he might actually stand a chance.
"so, what house do you think you'll be in?" he asked trying not to sound hopeful, and failing. Nico frowned
"I'm not sure. I'm not loyal enough to be a Hufflepuff, and not smart enough to be Ravenclaw. I'm brave enough to be Gryffindor, but I use any means to achieve my goals"
"sounds like you're a Slytherin" that meant he could be his friend more easily
"yeah, that's what my mamma said" Draco laughed a little. he looked up, and quirked an eyebrow.
"its nothing, well, you just said 'mamma' and it sounded odd coming from a sixteen year old" he seemed to think that was amusing
"in Italian your mom is called 'mamma' and I end up accidentally speaking Italian a lot, so I call my mother mamma" wow, that was a lot of information.
"ok then. I'm in Slytherin, if you're sorted there, maybe we could be friends?" Nico looked at Draco, his eyes swirling with emotions. fear, longing, betrayal, hope. all mixed up in the swirling dark orbs that seemed to see into your very soul.
"I would like that very much" he replied calmly. "I have a quest..." whatever he was going to say was cut off by Potter and his friends opening the door.
"can we sit...?" he started, then he saw Malfoy "oh, never mind Ginny, this one has a git infestation problem" he turned to leave, but Nico stood up and grabbed his sleeve
"excuse me, what did you just call us?" he said in a deathly whisper. Harry turned, and paled before the look that Nico was giving him
"I didn't call you anything. Malfoy's the git" Nico let his sleeve go
"why do you think that? he's the only one here who was brave enough to actually come in and talk to me. and that's saying something because Gryffindors are supposed to be known for their bravery" his words cut through the air like daggers. Harry turned and left without another word. Nico turned to him.
"so, I'm guessing that your last name is Malfoy" Draco nodded.
"yeah, Draco Malfoy at your service" he did a mock bow.
"Nico di Angelo at your...nope. I only serve myself" Nico grinned. they fell into silence.
"so, why is your left arm radiating evil?"
End of Chapter three
I control ALL the cliffies! I make cliffies every chapter!
oh, don't mind that, its just my, um, alternate personality. but, please review, and if I get fifteen reviews on this I'll post shadows chapter 8 :) because I'm nice. usually...
to the Reviewers!
ShadowStorm00766: thanks for the review bro. but please don't yell at me...
nico4life: I feast on the tears of my readers. its a HP crossover now so, yeah
unknown: I will :)
meh: it was Nyx's voice if you couldn't guess by now.
BBN: thank you, and I posted this. does it count?
A bit off: its VITAL. leave me be.