Nico watched, as a dress materialized on Hermione's bed. Hades gave her a small nod, and turned to the door. "Come, Nico. Let us give the girl some privacy." He led Nico out.
Outsider in the hall, Hades stopped Nico, when he tried to follow him. "I have to meet with Poseidon, but do show the girl the sights. I'm afraid it's far too rare, that people actually want to be here. And after all, you were the one who… invited her." He said with an amused smirk, making Nico roll his eyes.
Nico didn't have to wait long, before the girl, Hermione came out, and again she blew his mind away. The dress was a simple chiton, but the deep red, somehow made her skin seem whiter, her eyes a deeper brown. It was cinched at the waist, with a golden, ruby encrusted belt. Who knew Hades had fashion sense?
Her hair looked darker, from when he saw her the first time, but that was in daylight, and the sun didn't shine often in the Underworld. It felt like it, when she smiled though, and that thought terrified him. He would show her around, and then let her be on her way. He had already had a crush on her brother, and he wanted as big a distance from him as possible. Staying around this girl, would be mental and emotional suicide.
For now, though, he might as well enjoy it, while it lasted. She would be back in the mortal world by evening. Or, whatever time it was on the surface. Time moved differently in the Underworld. Sometimes he felt like it was like the Lotus Hotel, only in reverse. He could spend, what felt like hours in the Underworld, while in reality, it had been seconds on the surface. The mischievous part of his mind was looking very much forward to answering her inevitable question about how long she had been sleeping.
"So! Where to first?" She asked, smiling brightly, making Nico question her sanity.
He pointed down the corridor, and started walking, her falling into step beside him.
"I have to warn you a little first. I know you're curious, and obviously enthusiastic, but I just want to remind you, that this is the Underworld. People go here, when they die, and they stand before judgment. Sometimes judgment doesn't turn out in their favor. It can have some… explicit results." He said, carefully
"I imagine that. That doesn't make me any less curious though." She reflected.
"Alright. Just don't say I didn't warn you."
"Can we start at the beginning? From the place the dead come through? Or do they just come through all over?" Her enthusiam was infectious. When you're a child of The Underworld, you sometimes take things for granted. He was generally a curious guy, himself, but in his own self-pity, he had forgotten to appreciate, that the living had absolutely no idea about, what lay ahead. To her, this was undiscovered knowledge, and she was bursting with appetite for leaning the secret.
"Well, no. Generally, they have to go with Charon across the river, Styx" He answered, an involuntary smile stretching on his lips.
"Of course! I'm sorry, I'm afraid I'm a little rusty in Greek mythology." She winced.
"Don't worry." He chuckled "You'll catch up in no time, I'm sure"
"Can we start by seeing him?"
"Um sure."
Nico wasn't sure at all. Shadow travel was generally much easier, and much less draining in the Underworld, and he was sure he would have to do it a lot. Only thing was, that he was scared to touch her again, out of fear of draining her.
He compromised, by grabbing her dress, praying to his father, it would be alright.
They arrived in the lobby of DOA Recording Studios, startling Charon, who suddenly stood straight.
"Mr. Di Angelo! What a, um… pleasant surprise!" he gulped.
Nico sighed, exasperated. "Charon, how many times do I have to tell you to just call me Nico?"
Charon's shoulders sagged a little as he relaxed.
"Can't help it. You never know, maybe one day you will come with an inspection."
That's when he saw Hermione standing next to Nico.
"Well, who's the girl?" he asked him. "she almost died recently, but she survived. What's she doing here?"
"She, is standing right here, you know" Hermione said, indignant.
"Hermione Granger" she introduced herself, stretching out her hand.
"You've got spunk. I like! I'm Charon" He said, smiling widely at her.
He took her hand, and staggered a little, his eyes widening.
"That's… powerful" he said, in obvious surprise, dropping her hand.
Nico looked between the both of them, worried, that there might have happened a transference, but other than Charon looking a little winded, and staring at Hermione in awe, and Hermione staring curiously at her hand, nothing had happened.
"Yes, very powerful," Nico agreed. "And also, very secret which you ought to remember. You never know. One day, I might come with an inspection." Nico looked Charon dead in the eye, until the ferryman nodded his head frantically
"Yes sir, of course sir."
"Now, we would like to get across, if you can fit us in the boat… Please." Nico said gently. He generally didn't like to intimidate people, but sometimes it was necessary. And being the son of Hades, tended to help get the point across.
Hermione looked at him disapprovingly, making him roll his eyes.
"Of course, Mr. Di Angelo." The ferryman simpered, making Nico facepalm mentally.
Charon led them to the elevator, and Nico had to press himself against the wall, not to touch Hermione.
He loved to observe her, as creepy as that sounded. She was curious about everything. Even an elevator.
She gasped, when she noticed the elevator turning into a boat around her, and again, when she saw the spirits changing, wearing the grey robes, that signified all spirits as being equal in death.
For a while she stood, watching transfixed, as Charon changed form as well.
"May I?" she asked, lifting her hand.
Charon looked at Nico with a nervous expression. Or, he would have, if skeletons could look nervous.
Nico gave an imperceptible nod, which Charon copied.
Hermione touched the zygomatic bone, that was now completely devoid of flesh.
"Fascinating" she whispered. "Is the flesh a general illusion, or is it actually there in lobby, and you leave it there?
"Ew. That would be disgusting! Just a big pile of flesh, lying on the floor? It's the Mist, love. An illusion for the dearly departed, whose minds cannot process so much. Once they reach the Underworld, the illusion isn't really relevant anymore. A skeleton is nothing, compared to what's coming"
"But how do you speak then? The voice box is made from cartilage, ligaments and muscle."
"Er.. magic? Does she always ask this many questions?" the skeleton asked no one in particular, but Hermione's attention was already caught somewhere else.
They were about disembark, the boat sliding up on the black beach, when a three-chorus howl was heard in the near distance.
Hermione's eyes widened, and she got out of the boat and started walking towards the terrifying noise.
He shook his head. This girl had a serious lack of self-preservation.
When they reached the gates, Nico grabbed her dress again, and shadow travelled them across the border.
They followed the well-worn path, up to where Cerberus was standing.
"Oh! He's gorgeous!" Hermione gushed, when she saw the giant dog.
"Does he like music?"
"Um.. I don't really know. I don't know if you've noticed, but the Underworld isn't exactly a place that makes people break out in song." Nico replied.
Hermione started approaching Cerberus, humming, what sounded like a lullaby.
Lack of self-preservation, indeed.
Cerberus sat down, looking at her, as if he was in a trance. The middle head started yawning, while the other two heads were nodding. Within a minute, Cerberus was lying down, fast asleep.
Nico looked at her, in complete disbelief. Eyes wide and mouth open.
Hermione walked over, and started stroking the left head. She looked back and noticed Nico standing, staring at her in awe.
"Oh, I met a Cerberus before. Not as big of course, as this beautiful beast is the original. The Cerberus I met was called Fluffy. He was a real sweetheart."
"Who in Hades, names a Cerberus 'Fluffy'?" Nico asked, incredulous.
"The gamekeeper at Hogwarts. He has a certain proclivity for monsters. He also had a dragon called Norberta, and a pet Acromantula." She smiled widely, turning her attention back to stroking Cerberus.
Nico looked at her in horror, wondering how this girl wasn't dead yet. It certainly sounded like she had plenty of opportunities.
"We should move on" He interrupted her, and started walking along the path. Hermione stood to follow him, casting a final glance towards the sleeping Cerberus.
They followed the path into the large pavilion, where three figures sat, wearing black robes. Their golden masked shimmered away, when they approached the bench they were sitting at.
"Well well, long time no see, Di Angelo" The man sitting to the right said, in a mocking tone, a tight smile on his lips.
"Minnie!" Nico said amusedly. "How is it going, being stuck here?"
"I told you not to call me Minnie! It is undignified! I am a king!" The man growled.
"Oh yes, right. You were! Hermione, allow me to introduce you. This, is Minos. The ex-king of Crete."
Hermione must have caught on his dislike for the guy, or she just wasn't very fond of the man himself.
"Right. You're the one Daedalus cheated, aren't you? Your daughter betrayed you and helped Theseus kill the Minotaur. Speaking of the Minotaur, is it true your wife had an affair with a bull?" She asked.
"The insolence! You shall spend eternity in the Fields of Punishment for this!" The man barked.
"I'm afraid you're going to have to save that. We're still living, you see." Nico told Minos with mock sympathy.
They walked through the pavilion, and at the edge, Nico said, "People have three choices now. The Fields of Punishment, The Fields of Asphodel and Elysium. I won't recommend seeing the Fields of Punishment. It isn't pretty, but if you concentrate, you can hear the screams from here."
Hermione closed her eyes and scrunched her nose, trying to listen.
Nico shook his head "We can't go to Elysium. My father forbids me to go. Says I'm not allowed until I actually die and deserve it." He said with a wry smile
"That leaves fields of Asphodel" Hermione mumbled, mentally returning from the Fields of Punishment.
Nico nodded, leading the way.
"You were amazing, with Minos. That really made my day. 'Is it true your wife had an affair with a bull?' Classic. I have to remember that" He chuckled, shoving his hands down his pockets.
Hermione wasn't smiling. "The legends say, that hundreds of young men and women died in his labyrinth. He was a horrible man." She said. "Honestly, it's no wonder his wife preferred a bull." She pointed out, sending both of them into hysterical laughter.
Nico led them out into the yellow fields, where spirits were drifting everywhere, in between black poplar trees.
"What happens here?" Hermione asked him.
He sighed. "Nothing, really. People just spend eternity here. Slowly, they forget their life. Eventually they forget themselves, and who they were, and they fade."
Hermione looked around, at the spirits, some of them had no faces, and they were all in different stages of transparency.
"That's horrible" She whispered, tears in her eyes.
Then she noticed something in the distance, and pointed at it, making Nico turn his head.
A girl was sitting, leaning against a black poplar tree, but compared to the other spirits, this girl was almost solid.
Nico's brow wrinkled in confusion. He had an idea about, what was going on, but he would have to speak with his dad about it. That girl wasn't fading anytime soon.
Hermione was right. It really was horrible.