A/N: So... I may have forgotten to put in this chapter for several months. Oops? I also have other chapters done, but not the whole story. (sorry, sorry, I like to write a lot of a story before publishing) I still have the general idea; however, once I upload all of the chapters I have done, it'll probably be another long wait before I can dish out a fresh, new chapter that's actually in my current writing style. Ah, I haven't read BOO yet, so please no spoilers! (can't wait to read it, though)
Edit: Thanks to the guest for notifying me of the mistake!
On the inside, Nico winced at the loud creak the door was making, but his face showed no emotion. Hogwarts was gigantic, great, long tables extended beyond sight, beautiful enchanted lanterns dotted the airs, wispy ghosts standing stone still, and most importantly, the hundreds of students staring, wide eyed at him. He eyed the ghosts then remembered that Hades had already granted permission for them to live with the living. He must've been a sight, blood trickling through his makeshift bandage, ripped robes, and dirt splatters everywhere.
Several tense seconds rolled by until the tall, black haired, older witch stood and greeted, "Ah, you must be Nico di Angelo. Can you please come here?"
Nico walked over to her, persistently ignoring all of the stares boring into his head. The familiar messy hair of Harry Potter came into view. Nico noted Harry was sitting with other Gryffindors. He caught Harry's eye and told him silently, I'll explain later. The witch beckoned for him to sit on the stool, and he complied.
"My name is Minerva McGonagall," she introduced. "Now Nico, do you know of the four houses of Hogwarts?"
He nodded. Although he only had a brief lesson about them on the train, he didn't want to prolong his suffering any longer.
The look on her face showed that she didn't buy his answer, but she explained, "This is the sorting hat, it will sort you into one of the four houses."
She put the wrinkled, old hat on his head. As he wondered how a hat would sort him, a voice jostled his thoughts.
"Hmm… you're quite difficult, almost as difficult as the last one," a small voice said.
Hmm? He thought.
"You have the courage of a Gryffindor and the loyalty of a Hufflepuff," the voice whispered. "You have endured much, yes I know you're a demigod, but you still have the unbreakable loyalty of a Hufflepuff, though it is hard to gain. Ah, Hufflepuff will help you-"
I need to be in Gryffindor, he thought fiercely.
"I see. If times were different, Hufflepuff would've led you onto greatness. Alright, GRYFFINDOR!"
Nico heard the last word echoing through the hall. Clapping happened instantly, but Nico could tell it was slightly nervous and forced. His expression darkened a little. He slipped off the stool and gave the hat back to Professor McGonagall.
She gestured to his arm, "I'll take you to Madam Pomfrey, the healer, to have a look at that arm."
A witch in a red and white nurse uniform made her way from the High Table to Nico, pulled out her wand, and muttered a soft incantation. He instantly felt better as his arm repaired itself and left behind a cool, fresh feeling. However, the feeling didn't last long. It was suddenly replaced with a burning feeling, as if his arm rejected the magic - which it probably did. Madam Pomfrey took off the bandages and inspected the wound. It was closed, but the skin around it was irritated and red. She frowned. The healer probed the skin, and Nico tried not to hiss in pain.
"If it starts acting up, make sure to come to me, alright? Just ask around for me," she tutted.
Nico nodded. He found his way to the Gryffindor table where Harry sat with several other redheads, the Weasleys. They all smiled at him and congratulated him, and Nico's face brightened minutely. The oldest introduced himself as, "Percy". The name tugged at Nico's heartstrings. His face grew darker, but when the two twins introduced themselves, he lightened up again. They reminded him of the Stolls brothers, tricksters worthy of Hermes himself. He brightened up at the thought of camp. After the Giant War, everyone's spirits and attitudes had changed, bringing acceptance to him, although he still had doubts about the depths of the acceptance.
The older wizard at the very center of the High Table stood up, with a genuine smile and beamed, "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! I am Professor Dumbledore. Before we begin the banquet, I'd like to say a few words. They are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!"
A smile twitched at Nico's lips. Everyone clapped and cheered for the professor. A couple of first years turned toward each other in mixed confusion. He heard Harry asking Percy about Professor Dumbledore. Best wizard in the world, Percy called him. Nico watched as food suddenly filled itself on top of plates - almost like the ones at Camp Half-Blood. There were foods he'd never seen before, all deliciously steaming, waiting to be eaten. His stomach growled, but he couldn't eat, not yet.
Nico looked around for any sort of fire. He sighed at the lack of a fire and toyed with the thought of eating without sacrificing some to the gods first. A candle floated down to him, a soft smell of simple lavender. He looked at the glowing - fire! Although it was small, he was sure that if he just gathered more candles, he'd have a smallish fire. He reached out and plucked candles from the air and brought the flames together. Carefully, he swiped bits and pieces of various foods into the fire. It wasn't the best method, but it got the job done. The other wizards and witches looked at him quizzically, but he didn't care. He wasn't even one of their kind, anyway.
Smiling, he dug into his food. His 11 year old body was even effecting his appetite, much to his dismay and happiness. Usually he could stand days without food, but he knew his young body wouldn't take that much stress. On the other hand, the flavor of food improved immensely. He ate with as much gusto as Harry.
"So, Nico, why were you so late to the feast, and what happened to your arm?" Ron asked, mouth full of food.
Nico wiped his mouth with his sleeve, "I got lost in the forest."
"How'd you get lost? I thought you were with us the entire time,"
"I, um, tripped and, um, I kind of fell on my arm when we were in the forest. When I got up and figured out what happened to my arm, I couldn't see you guys anymore," Nico lied. "It took a long time for me to find a way out of the forest since it was getting dark, and I couldn't see."
"Wow, did you see any trolls or wolves or monsters?" a sandy haired boy questioned.
Nico shook his head, "I guess it was so dark that either I couldn't see them, or they couldn't see me, thankfully."
The boys nodded, curiosity satisfied, and they went back to eating. Harry looked shocked at all of the monsters that apparently inhabited the forests. Out of the corner of his eye, Nico saw a ghost hovering uncertainly near them. He sent out a friendly vibe to the ghost, and the ghost hesitantly made its way over to him.
"How does the food taste, m-my-" the ghost stopped when Nico shot him a look.
"It's very good," Nico said quietly so that only the ghost can hear him, "I'd prefer if you didn't treat me any different, I'm on a quest, after all."
The ghost nodded furiously, "Hello fellow Gryffindors. Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington at your service. Resident ghost of Gryffindor tower. Pleasure to meet all of you."
Fortunately for Nico, the suspicions of his fellow classmates were wiped away once Sir Nicholas started talking.
"I know who you are!" Ron shouted excitedly, "You're Nearly Headless Nick!"
"Well-" Nick started.
"Nearly headless? How can you be nearly headless?" the sandy haired boy questioned.
Sir Nicholas looked extremely miffed, and Nico had to fight down a burst of snickers. In a short amount of time, Nico had scanned the ghost and found how he had died, as well as the ghost's failed membership in a certain Headless Hunt.
"Like this," he grumbled, taking hold of his left ear and effectively pulling his head off, just barely holding onto his neck by a thread of skin.
Shocked gasps went around the table, sending a pleased look on Nearly Headless Nick's face. He placed his head back on and started talking about Quidditch. Nico tried to listen, but was immediately disinterested. He allowed his mind to wander, wondering where the philosopher's stone was. He could feel it in the castle somewhere since a stone with massive immortality powers wasn't exactly hard to miss, but he didn't know where exactly it was. He tried following the aura, but it just led him into multiple dead ends and splitting headaches. Nico picked at his food when suddenly it changed into a colorful array of desserts. He was instantly reminded of Percy's blue birthday cake.
Suddenly, he felt Harry's life aura shift, as if there was another soul in with Harry's, like a parasite - which there was. He turned toward Harry and saw that he was clutching his scar in pain. Nico followed Harry's eyes to a man with greasy black hair. He sensed something odd in one of the teachers, but he couldn't pinpoint which one. The odd aura reminded him of Riddle's, could Tom already be inside the very school?
"What is it?" Nico asked.
"N-nothing," Harry said as the pain suddenly faded away.