A/N: Hey, would you look at that? I actually updated with story. Sorry for taking so long, I really don't have an excuse, I ignored this story to work on my other one and it wasn't fair to everyone that's reading this one. Thank you for the patience, and for reading. Also, it made me really happy that people voted on the plot ideas from the first chapter. It helped me figure out what direction this story should take, please keep reviewing. I enjoy getting constructive criticism, so don't be afraid to point out something I messed up or the parts to like. Again, thank you, it means a lot to me.
Disclaimer: I'm nor Rick Riordan or J.K. Rowling.
My father is shining, no annoying sibling violently dragged me out to bed, and I don't have to work in the infirmary until this afternoon. It's a great morning. The only thing that could make it better is if a certain Son of Hades would show up to breakfast more than once a week, but hey, I'll work with what I got. Of course, with everything being so perfect, it's only a matter of time before a monster or injured camper comes along to ruin it. Until that happens I can enjoy this moment of peace.
"What's that?" A girl from the Hermes table wonders rather loudly. She stands up and points at spot on the horizon.
Well, the calm before the storm sure didn't last long.
The speck grows until it's clears that it's some sort of bird. Normally that wouldn't be weird for a summer camp, but birds aren't all that common here outside of the woods with the protective shield in place and a hungry dragon working as a guard dog. If that isn't odd enough, it seem to be heading straight toward the pavilion. By now, everyone has stopped eating their breakfast to watch as the bird, which can be made out as an owl, seems to be carrying a package in it's talons. It barely reaches the dining pavilion before it almost clips people in the head with a box that's a little to large for a bird of that size. Finally, it all but crash lands in front of me. Cue the whispers as campers turn to their neighbor to discuss what's going on and what all of this means. Despite all the commotion, the small fowl doesn't seemed fazed at all. It rights itself, himself (I'm pretty sure it's a boy), lets out a soft "who", and stares at me with piercing yellow eyes. I can only get it to stop once I shoo it off of the parcel. It must have been the right thing to do, because he steals a piece of bacon off of my plate (much to my annoyance) and flies off.
"That was weird," someone states the obvious. This sets off a chorus people voicing their agreement. Trying to block all this out, I turn my attention to the parcel sitting on the table in front of me.
I grab the package to find that it's wrapped in a thick brown paper. Two creamy coloured letters are attached to the top with a strip of twine. The address is in English, making it hard to read with my dyslexia, but I'm almost positive that's my name. The rest is a smaller print and impossible to decipher by myself. I have to have one of my sisters to help me. Apparently, the upper right corner with the fancy "M" stamp has the words Wizarding Owl Post International underneath it while the left side contains a return address for a Hecate Titan. Everything starts making sense, these must be the supplies Hecate mentioned. Though I don't know how all the stuff I need to blend in at a magic school could fit in a box this size. I yank at the string bow until the letters are dislodged. The bottom one has the same packaging as the first, but it's has Nico's name written on it in a dark green ink. Well, I was looking for an excuse to drag Nico to breakfast, now I have an excuse to take breakfast to him. Most people have left after the excitement died, so no one questions when I start piling pancakes, waffles, bacon, sausage, fruit, and other random breakfast foods on a plate. I tuck the box and the letters under my arm before heading towards the Hades cabin.
Three things to know about cabin 13, the outside is freezing. It a type of cold that's only possible because the Underworld material it's made out of leeches any warmth out of the air. Even though most campers find this creepy, it's the perfect place to hang out during the dog days of summer if you want a break from the heat.. Despite the temperature outside the building, the inside is like a furnace. It's what I imagine the portals to hell would feel like. The entire thing is an anomaly the Nico either doesn't know the answer to or refuses to explain when I've asked about it. Lastly, the door is almost never locked which makes it easy to get in when he doesn't respond to your knocking. Like for instance, now.
As soon as I walk into the cabin, it's obvious that he hasn't even heard me invite myself in. I can hear the music from his head phones from the door way. "Nico," I try to get his attention at a normal volume before switching to yelling, "Nico!" It seems to work. He at least looks up from the sword he's sharpening.
"What are you doing here Will?" he yells over the sound of Twenty One Pilots playing in his ears. I go to speak, but close my mouth. There is no way I'm going to scream so he can hear me. I motion for him to remove his headphones.
"You weren't at breakfast," I start once I can talk like a normal person and still have him hear me.
"I was sleeping." Based on his appearance, I don't doubt it. The dark bags under his eyes are gone, slightly, replaced by a rim of pale redness. He doesn't say anything else.
"Oh, I brought you something to eat." I force the plate of food into his hands. He takes it with little resistance. "Are you okay?" I can't help but blurt out.
"Allergies," Nico snaps. There's nothing about allergies in his medical and we both know it. He places the plate on the bedside table, but doesn't eat anything off of it. "What's that?" Nico points to the box, changing the subject before I have the chance to push it any further.
"Package from Hecate, an owl delivered it." I don't get any type of reaction from him, "And you don't seem the least bit surprised."
He shrugs, "Most wizards use owls to send mail." Athena would be horrified if she ever found out.
"Of course they do." I flop down on the bed next to Nico. This is starting to get to be to much.
"Have you opened it yet?" he gestures to the package.
"I shake my head no. "what if it's set to explode." I wouldn't put it past the gods to do that.
He rolls his eyes and reaches across me to grab something off the table. "Open it," he commands while offering me the silver knife he grabbed.
I take a moment to consider it, looking at the box, then at the knife, then back at the box before finally relenting. "Fine." I accept the blade. Though I don't completely trust it, so I slice through the packaging with my face turned away. Nothing explodes out at me. That's good, right? Hoping this means that it's safe, I risk a peek. I don't know what I'm expecting, maybe at least an April's Fools note or something along those line. Instead, the box is empty. I think. It's hard to tell when it looks like there isn't a bottom to it. I reach my hand in to make sure that I'm not seeing things and end up going up to my elbow. "Whoa." I pull my arm back out. "it's like Mary Poppins' bag," I start getting excited.
"Mary who?" Nico leans over to look.
I can't tell if he's being serious. How can he not know who Mary Poppins is? "You know, Chim Chimney or Supicali," I try to jog his memory, but trail off as I notice he looks even more confused. "Basically it's bigger on the inside," I simplify.
It's like a light bulb goes off over his head. "Why didn't you say that? It must be some type of extension charm." Now it's my turn to have no idea what he's talking about. "Think TARDIS," he explains.
"I guess." I blink. I can't believe it. How can he know about Doctor Who but not Mary Poppins?
Disappointed in Nico's musical ignorance, I move on and reach back into the box. This time my finger brushes against an unknown object so, like an idiot, I grab it without a second thought. I wonder what it is. Maybe a broom stick, or a pointing hat, or even...another box. It's a burnt red colour with golden cursive writing that I'm not even going to try reading. My hopes that whatever is inside of it will be more interesting are dashed once I open it. "It's a stick," I have to say it out loud to really process it. "What am I supposed to do with this?" I wave it around to prove my point. Instead, a golden light shoots out of the tip and explodes like a firework. Gumball sized spheres of light rain down, fizzling out before they can hit the ground. It's mesmerizing. I watch as Nico catches one in the palm of his hand. Surprisingly, it condenses into a ball of sunlight. "it's a twig," I laugh.
"It's a wand," he corrects me like the terminology is going to change the fact it's made out of wood.I point this out.
"I could sit on it and snap it in half."
"or you could say two words and kill someone." Well that's a sobering thought. I quickly place the wand back in it's box. With my luck, I'll say abra cadabra and stop a person's heart.
"What else do you think is in here?" I wonder. Nico shrugs and picks up the letter with his name on it acting like he doesn't care, but I can see him watching me out of the corner of his eye, smiling. Deciding to take a page out of the "Nico's Guide to Recklessness," I turn the box upside down and dump everything out. Many books that almost land on my toes, a pile of what might be cloaks, suspicious specimen looking things, and a few other supplies tumble out. I start going through it while Nico reads his letters when I realize there's one thing missing, "There's isn't a wand for you," I point out.
He looks up from his reading. "I would be surprised if there was." His calm acceptance of all this is starting to get on my nerves. Especially since it feels like I'm missing something obvious.
"But how are you supposed to do magic without a twig?" Wait, that's not right, "I mean a wand," I amend.
"I have a wand," he slides off of the bed to dig around under the bed. It doesn't take long for him to find what he's looking for. When he does, he holds up a wand for me to see. His is made of a darker wood than mine and has a sharper point. There's leather wrapped around the handle that blends into the runes and other designs carved into it. "See?" he whispers a couple words that sound like gibberish to me, but must have been a spell.
A shimmery grey wisp of smoke floats out of the wand and morphs into a horse-like figure with wings and more bones than skin. It prances around in the air, seemingly unaffected by the laws a gravity. At one point it comes close enough that I can pet it. "How do you know so much magic?" The light from the zombie horse quickly dims until the smoky figure disperses completely.
I turn to Nico to see what happened. He's standing there awkwardly, biting his lip and twisting his skull ring. "My, uh, mom was a witch," he admits, though he won't look me in the eyes, "and I," he kicks at the ground, "I'm a wizard."
I open and close my mouth, but nothing comes out. The whole thing makes sense, how he knows about the wizarding world, the spells, maybe even why he seems so powerful. What I don't understand is why he's so hesitant to tell me. "So?" I force out.
Nico's finally stops avoiding my gaze and laughs sarcastically. "So, I'm a Son of Hades, people already think I'm a freak." I try to interrupt him, but he's on a roll. "Plus, if the wizards ever find out, I'd be labeled a half-breed and be either feared or hated. Probably both. Then I would be ostracized from two world." Done with his rant, he falls back onto Hazel's dark purple bed. "I don't want that to happen," he adds quietly.
We sit in silence for a moment before I can't take it any longer. I jump off of Nico's bed so that I'm standing over him."You are an idiot di Angelo," I stress every word. "I'm not going to care who, or what, you're parents are," He lifts his head to look at me. "and anyone who does care is a jerk. Thinking otherwise is stupid." I reprimand. "Stop being stupid. Doctors orders." I smile.
"Whatever," is what he says, but I know it means that he'll at least try which is a start and that's all that matters.
"Great, one more thing." he looks skeptical, though he nods, letting me know he's still listening. "When do I get to learn how to do that astral projection thingy?"
He laughs.