Chapter 16

Harry

After everyone thought that I had put my name in the Goblet of Fire, everyone other than the demigods were glaring at me.

I can finally understand what Nico must have felt. When the students found out about the Umbrakinesis, he used to walk around with his head down alone. Now he sticks more to the demigods and the Slytherins.

This morning I was near the corner of the Gryffindor table with Hermione. Ron was sitting with Fred and George uncomfortable between his two brothers.

Just then all the Slytherins from my year entered the room with a loud chatter. They were dragging Nico, who looked like he was covered in sweat after training, towards the Slytherin table. The older Slytherins welcomed him openly as they sat on the table for breakfast.

Hermione looked up from her Transfiguration assignment.

"Well looks like Nico's having fun." She commented.

"Yeah" I muttered.

"That's good" she said "At least we know that it is most unlikely for him to get arrested."

"Arrested?"

"Don't you notice how some of the students from the other houses are flaring at him?"

I looked towards the Slytherin table where Nico was seated. And I notice some of the Ravenclaws were glaring at him. Even some of the Hufflepuffs were giving him some funny looks.

"I wonder why though."

"He's a Slytherin." Hermione said "the prejudice is prominent especially when everyone expected Percy or Jason to be the Camp Half Blood champion. If Diggory wasn't the Hogwarts champion, let's say it was a Slytherin who became the Hogwarts champion. They would probably do to him or her the same thing they are doing to Nico."

"Then why is everyone so angry with me becoming the fourth champion. I didn't want this!"

"Most are happy for you, Harry." Hermione said taking a sip of her pumpkin juice. "Ron's just jealous. He'll get over it."

"I hope so."

"Looks like Nico's coming over."

True enough Nico stood from his seat on the Slytherin table and was heading towards the Gryffindor table. He looked different without the usual Hogwarts uniform. He looked relaxed. And a lot stronger. The muscles in his arms were more prominent and his tattoo looked more intimidating.

"Hey guys" he said sitting down beside me getting some dark looks from the other Gryffindors. He looks at me straight in the eye his dark eyes concerned. "How are you doing?"

I shrugged "Fine, I guess. I wish I could just have a normal year."

He chuckled. "Yeah, well I've been wishing for that since I was ten. Things get weirder and weirder."

Hermione glared at him "You are no help you know that."

"What?" He asked "It's true! Do you have any idea how weird being able to talk to ghosts abs zombies are! It took me a year to learn that just cuz i can talk to them, doesn't mean i have to hang around them twenty four seven."

"How do you stand it though" I asked "the staring, the glares?"

He just shrugged. "At first i just took it. I always thought I never belonged. Being the son of the Underworld, well, I don't exactly have a good reputation for that. Then I realize, I'm not my father. The stared. The rumors that's their problem. Why? How bad is the whole 'you're just fourteen thing'?"

"Pretty bad." I admitted

"Well one thing i learned from solitude." Nico said "is that age is meaningless. There will always be someone who will be better. And you could always be that someone. Don't let them bring you down. Don't keep it all in."

"That would be a little difficult with the whole school against me."

I felt a cold hand on my shoulder. "Not everyone is against you. Trust me, I know the feeling. You can always ask for help from someone outside your group. If I were to suggest, go talk to Jason or Frank, I could be an ear to listen if need it. Just you know tell me."

From the corner of my eye i saw Malfoy waving towards Nico.

"I have to go, the Slytherins are giving me a crash course on spells. We'll talk later. Are you going to the party tonight?"

"What party?"

"Nothing" he said quickly "Forget I said anything. Just talk to someone in your free time. Perhaps even a teacher. Good luck, Potter"

Nico stood up from his seat and jogged over toward the other Slytherins.

~()~

Before lunch, I was at the camp site where campers were everywhere. They were chatting, sparring and even playing some sort of card game.

"Harry!" I turned and saw Percy coming over. He had a blonde haired boy walking calmly behind him.

"Hi."

"What are you doing here?" He asked

"Well I have free period" i started "then i don't know I was just bored, I guess."

"Why don't you come with us!" The blonde haired boy, who i think is Jason, said "we're just heading toward the archery range. If you want we could teach you."

"Well Jason can teach you." Percy said "i am a hopeless archer."

I shrugged "sure i guess."

They brought me to the archery range where dozens of targets were raised. There weren't many campers in the archery range as i would have expected but there were still a fair few.

A bulky dark haired boy with a military cut was shooting some arrows. He stopped when he saw them and walked over strapping hanging his bow behind him.

"Hey guys!" He said with a smile. He was wearing a simple purple shirt with a pin that looks a lot like a crown.

"Hey!" Jason greeted "Frank this is Harry Potter. Harry this is Frank Zhang, Praetor of the Twelfth Legion."

"Just call me Frank." He said kindly. "No need for titles."

"We're going to teach Harry some archery."

"Don't you mean, you?" Frank said "we all know Percy is a hopeless archer."

"You got that right!" Jason said

"Hey!"

"Well it's true!"

"Yeah" Percy said goodnaturedly. "So now that we're alone. What's on your mind, Potter?"

I stiffened. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Well you don't usually walk around alone. And you look Nico from his broody days."

I just kept quiet trying to figure out how to approach this. Was I that obvious?

"Don't keep it all in." Jason said. "It's not going to help you any."

"Nico said the same thing." I muttered

"Probably because I was the one who told him that." Jason said. with a smile. "So I'm guessing Nico sent you to his favorite cousins?"

"He told me to talk to you." I admitted. "He said that you could help."

"So what seems to be the problem?"

"I don't know, it's just that, I hate how everyone thinks I put my name into that cup."

"But you know that you didn't, right." Frank said.

"Yes."

"Then they have nothing against you." He said. "They are nothing more than rumors. Words and lies."

"I am just so conflicted." I said. "Ron won't talk to me. Neither are half of my friends."

"Then perhaps they aren't really your friends." Percy said. "Personally though, I think the whole age thing is a load of bull. Just because we are younger, it doesn't mean that we are weak. One of the best examples…"

"Is you?" Jason asked with a smirk.

"I wasn't going to say that, I mean was Nico." Percy said. "I mean seriously that kid scares me sometimes."

"I think what our dear friend Percy is trying to say, is that. Age is meaningless. You're fellow champions may be three years older than you, but it doesn't mean that they are entirely stronger than you." Jason said. "There are a lot of other ways to be able to win this competition."

"I don't want to win." I said. "I don't want eternal glory, I just want to have a normal year for once."

"I don't really have much to say about the whole death thing." Jason said. "We have to admit, we aren't the best to ask about in these situations. We often fight for our lives, I mean Percy here is probably the oldest living demigod of the Big Three ever heard of in the past century."

"Oldest when it comes to physical age that is." Percy said. "But Jason is right, we aren't the best to ask. But what we can tell you at this point is that don't worry too much about it."

"But we can help you with one thing." Frank said handing me his bow. "The other champions, they have their years of experience, but you have us now. Any friend of Nico's is a friend of ours."

"And one thing's for sure," Percy said "If we can help it, we keep our friends safe."

Okay I'm evil whahahahah

So yeah, I'm not sure but there were some confusions. So I'm going to clear things up a bit.

If you know "Back to Goode" the story I wrote before about the Big Three returning to Goode, well that is like over. I really have nothing to add in there at the moment I might add little snippets like the Little Three stuff. But other than that the story is done. It was like a plotless story that I just kept adding and adding for fun. But you know I ran out of stuff to post

As much as I love Solangelo. I will not be able to put it here (not because of the whole "they don't like gay people thing" but rather the fact that I have never tried to write anything within that genre but rather because) I don't know how to write a guy and guy dance for the Yule ball… I mean seriously im like still working it out how to make the people now dance about. So yeah I LOVE Solangelo, so im making it a best friend relationship than the supposed relationship.

So yeah that's all I got to say. Semestral Break doesn't start till like November 21st so I have no time to do too much chapters especially because I am cramming all my finals plates at the moment (all due next week and all are less than 50% done)

So anyways till the next update,

PLEASE REVIEW!