"Hiya, Nico!" Percy called, dodging another lightning bolt. "Wassup," Jason nodded at him as he tried to cut Percy's knee. Percy dodged to the side, aimed a blow at Jason's head, and pouted visibly as the Son of Jupiter ducked and tried to attack him with his gladius.
Nico groaned again. "Why me," he said, looking at the sky. He looked back at his two cousins. "Can you two stop trying to cut each other up for a second?"
Jason faked a thoughtful expression. "So Percy can take a dip in the lake and come out all energized while we have a nice chat? Nope." He said this why trying to run his gladius through Percy, only to have it blocked by Riptide.
"What he said," Percy agreed. "Besides, Jace and I still need to settle the old bet. It's your fault you called on us, you know."
Nico frowned. More like it was his fault he didn't call on someone else.
"What's up with the Lares," Nico said quickly, deciding that dealing with them was as effective as it ever would be.
"Straight forward aren't you?" Jason whistled. His whistle quickly turned into a cough after Percy doused him with water. "You've been spending too much time with the brits," Percy said, smirking at them.
Nico sighed. This just wasn't going to work. He prayed to his dad that his attempt would work, closed his eyes, and concentrated.
Two skeletal arms shot out of the sand and caught the two demigods. "Woah!" Jason exclaimed, glaring at Nico, clearly impressed, but even more so accusing.
"You've left me no choice," Nico said, looking at them with a not-so-innocent smirk.
"They're talking about the death flee!"Percy quickly said. Jason and Nico stared at him.
"What?" They said, frowning.
"The Death flee," Percy muttered again, frowning at the skeletal hands. "Annabeth IMed me. Told me not to spread it around, but you're working on it too, and I'm sure Jace can keep his mouth shut about it. That's all they could get out. Something about a soul escaping death, I don't know." Percy was ranting now, and Nico was slowly consuming the information. "And wow, dude, I didn't know you could raise skeletons from Britian. Can you let us go now?"
"I can't believe you didn't tell me!" Jason said, frowning at Percy. "We're supposed to be bros, man!"
Percy looked at Jason apologetically. "Sorry, Jace." he muttered. "You know what Annabeth can do when she's pissed off."
"Is there anything else?" Nico said, anxious to get everything out of the two.
"Yeah," Jason said, still glaring at Percy. "Got a point there, but what's their excuse. I'm ex-praetor! You were only praetor for about two hours and you still get to know-"
"It more has to do with the fact that my girlfriend was with them that me being praetor, man-"
Nico rolled his eyes, and made the skeletons tighten their grip around the two.
"Ouch, dude!" Percy protested. "I don't know anything else, I swear. Now can you let me go before I lose the feeling in my legs?"
Sighing, and deciding there was no point in talking to them anymore, Nico let them go. He was just about to swipe-cut the IM, but Percy accidentally did it for him with Riptide as he lunged at Jason.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
It was Nico's first Quidditch match. Of course, he knew what Quidditch was. Apart from the fact that Hecate had installed all the knowledge of a fifth-year into his brain, the boys in the Gryffindor Common Room would never quit talking about it.
Had Hermione tried to convince Nico to go for the try outs? Definitely. How he responded? Well, he pretty much hid behind people and avoided her until he was safe from surfing on Uncle Z's territory. After his reasons became clear, she shook his head at him and called him a dunderhead. Whatever that meant, he knew it wasn't a compliment.
But of course, Nico was there to watch the match. Firstly because Hermione (who for some reason was insistent on having Nico acting like a normal 'wizard' for once) would never let him hear the end of it if he didn't. Secondly, because his conversation with Jason and Percy last had unnerved him, and thirdly, because he wanted to keep all the things he had to do off his mind for a few minutes.
But the Fates seemed to really hate Nico that day. Not that they ever favored him before...But they seemed to be in a particularly bad mood. Maybe one of them broke a nail or something.
"Ron had better not be too nervous..." Hermione muttered beside Nico, staring as the two Captains shook hands.
Why's he nervous? Nico was tempted to ask. Nothing's gonna happen. It's not as though he's in danger of falling and hundred meters of the ground or dying.
Maybe Ron's nervousness wasn't due to fear of heights, but he did seem a bit jittery. One thing about being too jumpy; it could get you killed. Well, in the demigod world, at least. If you're fighting a monster, let's say, a hellhound. You can't hesitate. You have to keep your cool, run your weapon through the thing, and keep going. If you're too flustered, then the monster might just bite your head off before you get through thinking about the 'what ifs'.
Fortunately, there were no hellhounds on the Quidditch pitch, so Ron was going to keep his head after all.
Madam Hooch placed her whistle in her mouth and blew. The balls were released and the fourteen players shot upwards.
"And it's Johnson - 'Johnson with the Quaffle, what a player that girl is, I've been saying it for years but she still won't go out with me - "
JORDAN!' yelled Professor McGonagall.
Nico snickered. For some reason, he remembered Coach Hedge;
" - just a fun fact, Professor, adds a bit of interest - and she's ducked Warrington, she's passed Montague, she's - ouch - been hit from behind by a Bludger from Crabbe . . . Montague catches the Quaffle, Montague heading back up the pitch and - nice Bludger there from George Weasley, that's a Bludger to the head for Montague, he drops the Quaffle, caught by Katie Bell, Katie Bell of Gryffindor reverse-passes to Alicia Spinnet and Spinnet's away - "
Lee Jordan's commentary rang through the stadium and Harry listened as hard as he could through the wind whistling in his ears and the din of the crowd, all yelling and booing and singing.
" dodges Warrington, avoids a Bludger - close call, Alicia - and the crowd are loving this, just listen to them, what's that they're singing?"
Nico frowned. He thought he could hear it too...He had the strong feeling he wasn't going to like what he would hear, and he wasn't wrong.
And as Lee paused to listen, the song rose loud and clear from the sea of green and silver in the Slytherin section of the stands:
'Weasley cannot save a thing,
He cannot block a single ring,
That's why Slytherins all sing:
Weasley is our King.
'Weasley was born in a bin
He always lets the Quaffle in
Weasley will make sure we win
Weasley is our King.'
"Oh, Styx." Nico cursed, as he realized what they were doing. Hermione's mouth fell open. Nico knew those Slytherins were good-for-nothing low-lifes, but not to this extent. He was seriously offended the hat had even considered putting him in that. Nico saw some Gryffindors standing up and roaring insults in disapproval.
"- and Alicia passes back to Angelina!' Lee shouted, and as Harry swerved, his insides boiling at what he had just heard, he knew Lee was trying to drown out the words of the song. 'Come on now, Angelina - looks like she's got just the Keeper to beat! - SHE SHOOTS - SHE - aaaah . . ."
Bletchley, the Slytherin Keeper, had saved the goal; he threw the Quaffle to Warrington who sped off with it, zig-zagging in between Alicia and Katie; the singing from below grew louder and louder as he drew nearer and nearer Ron.
'Weasley is our King,
Weasley is our King,
He always lets the Quaffle in
Weasley is our King.'
"- and it's Warrington with the Quaffle, Warrington heading for goal, he's out of Bludger range with just the Keeper ahead - "
A great swell of song rose from the Slytherin stands below:
"Weasley cannot save a thing,
He cannot block a single ring . . ."
" - so it's the first test for new Gryffindor Keeper Weasley, brother of Beaters Fred and George, and a promising new talent on the team - come on, Ron!"
Unconsciously, Nico and Hermione found themselves yelling at the Slytherins and encouraging Ron along with the other Gryffindors.
"He's going to get it!" Hermione said, more to herself than to anyone else, really. "He's going to get it. He's going to-"
But the scream of delight came from the Slytherins' end: Ron had dived wildly, his arms wide, and the Quaffle had soared between them straight through Ron's central hoop.
Nico cursed. He silently prayed to Nike.
"Slytherin score!' came Lee's voice amid the cheering and booing from the crowds below, 'so that's ten-nil to Slytherin - bad luck, Ron."
The Slytherins sang even louder:
'WEASLEY WAS BORN IN A BIN
HE ALWAYS LETS THE QUAFFLE IN. . .'
Nico couldn't resist. He yelled "SHUT UP!" Which of course, was nothing compared to the sonic explosion from the Slytherins' side.
"- and Gryffindor back in possession and it's Katie Bell tanking up the pitch - " cried Lee valiantly, though the singing was now so deafening that he could hardly make himself heard above it.
'WEASLEY WILL MAKE SURE WE WIN
WEASLEY IS OUR KING . . .'
''WEASLEY IS OUR KING,
WEASLEY IS OUR KING . . .'
'WEASLEY WAS BORN IN A BIN . . .'
Nico heard Hermione groan beside him. Ginny Weasley, who was a few seats below them growled so loudly that she was heard over the noise.
"- and it's Warrington again,' bellowed Lee, 'who passes to Pucey, Pucey's off past Spinnet, come on now, Angelina, you can take him - turns out you can't - but nice Bludger from Fred Weasley I mean, George Weasley, oh, who cares, one of them, anyway, and Warrington drops the Quaffle and Katie Bell - er - drops it, too - so that's Montague with the Quaffle, Slytherin Captain Montague takes the Quaffle and he's off up the pitch, come on now, Gryffindor, block him!"
"Come on, Ron!" Hermione and Ginny yelled aimlessly.
WEASLEY CANNOT SAVE A THING . . .'
" - and Pucey's dodged Alicia again and he's heading straight for goal, stop it, Ron!"
'THAT'S WHY SLYTHERINS ALL SING
WEASLEY IS OUR KING.'
Ron let in two more goals. There was an edge of panic in Harry's desire to find the Snitch now. If he could just get it soon and finish the game quickly.
"- and Katie Bell of Gryffindor dodges Pucey, ducks Montague, nice swerve, Katie, and she throws to Johnson, Angelina Johnson takes the Quaffle, she's past Warrington, she's heading for goal, come on now, Angelina - GRYFFINDOR SCORE! It's forty-ten, forty-ten to Slytherin and Pucey has the Quaffle . . ."
Nico sighed in relief. Perhaps Nike was listening after all. She may or may not have gotten over the fact that Leo and The AII crew had tied her up and put her in the ship like storage.
The thought was kind of amusing. Nico could imagine finding it on Amazon:
Item: Greek Goddess of Victory.
Quantity: 1
Shipping Method: Bronze flying ship.
Payment method: -drachmas, to be payed by Hermes Express or Credit Card.
He inwardly snickered at the thought. The Amazons would have a little trouble finding another bronze ship to deliver. The loud chorus brought Nico out of his extremely ADHD thoughts.
'WEASLEY WAS BORN IN A BIN
HE ALWAYS LETS THE QUAFFLE IN
WEASLEY WILL MAKE SURE WE WIN . . .'
Time slowed down. Nico could clearly see Harry and Draco Malfoy closing over the snitch. For the first time, Nico found himself lost in the excitement.
"Come on, come on..." Nico muttered with Hermione.
WHAM.
A Bludger hit Harry squarely in the small of the back and he flew forwards off his broom. Luckily he was only five or six feet above the ground, having dived so low to catch the Snitch, but he was winded all the same as he landed flat on his back on the frozen pitch. He heard Madam Hooch's shrill whistle, an uproar in the stands compounded of catcalls, angry yells and jeering, a thud, then Angelina's frantic voice.
At this, Nico lost it. Not only were the Slytherins low-lifes, but they were also cheaters. He knew quite well that Bludgers were NOT supposed to be aimed at SEEKERS by BEATERS.
Without even knowing it, Nico was making his way down the stands. He had not idea why. He didn't hear the roars of approval from the Gryffindors, indicating their victory. He didn't noticed when Dean Thomas tried to stop him by putting a reluctant hand on his shoulder as her climbed downwards. All he could think of was how unfair it was.
Before he knew it, he was beside the Quidditch team, glaring at the Slytherins. He wanted to take action, to do something, but he wasn't even sure if he was allowed to be there, so he satisfied himself by glaring at Crabbe, who flinched instantly.
"Saved Weasley's neck, haven't you?" Draco said to Harry. "I've never seen a worse Keeper . . . but then he was born in a bin . . . did you like my lyrics, Potter?"
"Yeah," Nico said, much to everyone's surprise. The Gryffindors had barely noticed his arrival, and the Slytherins were dumbfounded at his reply.
"If you replace Malfoy with Weasly, that is" Nico admitted, glaring at Malfoy. "But I must say, Malfoy, you're better at writing lyrics than you are at flying. They shouldn't allow young song-writers with such potential on sport teams." Nico said.
The Gryffindors snickered at this.
"You-you think you're so scary Di Angelo?" Malfoy spat back, still looking taken aback by Nico's words.
"At least I can make it five feet into the air on my broom. I'm surprised you've made it to Gryffindor. You should have been a useless Hufflepuff instead."
Nico could feel the shadows around them ripple a little. However, before he could come up with a reply to that, Harry beat him to it.
"The Hufflepuffs are better than you'll ever be Malfoy!" He yelled, taking a step forward.
Draco sneered, taking comfort in the anger he was causing. "Dear old Diggory, eh? Of course, he was better than Weasley, here."
"We wanted to write another couple of verses!" Malfoy called, as Katie and Alicia hugged Harry.
"But we couldn't find rhymes for fat and ugly - we wanted to sing about his mother, see - "
Talk about sour grapes,' said Angelina, casting Malfoy a disgusted look.
"- we couldn't fit in useless loser either - for his father, you know - "
Fred and George had realised what Malfoy was talking about. Halfway through shaking an absentminded Harry's hand, they stiffened, looking round at Malfoy.
Nico felt his blood boiling. He took a deep breath and told himself to calm down before ghostifying anyone.
"Leave it!" said Angelina at once, taking Fred by the arm. 'Leave it, Fred, let him yell, he's just sore he lost, the jumped-up little -"
"- but you like the Weasleys, don't you, Potter?' said Malfoy, sneering. 'Spend holidays there and everything, don't you? Can't see how you stand the stink, but I suppose when you've been dragged up by Muggles, even the Weasleys' hovel smells OK - "
Harry and Nico grabbed hold of George. Meanwhile, it was taking the combined efforts of Angelina, Alicia and Katie to stop Fred leaping on Malfoy, who was laughing openly. Harry looked around for Madam Hooch, but she was still berating Crabbe for his illegal Bludger attack.
"Or perhaps," said Malfoy, leering as he backed away, "you can remember what your mother's house stank like, Potter, and Weasley's pigsty reminds you of it - "
That's when Nico, and apparently Harry, lost it. They both let go of George and lunged at Malfoy. Nico felt exactly what it was like. But the word that melted the lock, can't remember.
I'll show you 'can't remember', Nico thought as he threw himself at Malfoy, fists balled.
He would never know how it felt like, not remember your mother's expressions, not to remember how every hug felt like, not to remember your old life. He never would, because Draco Malfoy was nothing but a pampered prat with hair that would make Annabeth understand where the 'dumb-blonde' stereo-typing came from.
When I'm done with you Draco Malfoy, Nico though, you won't remember your blasted name.
You guys had better appreciate this :D I want to get done with this quickly, though. The more reviews, the bigger chapters, I say! Let's get this done so I can start writing the 'Half-Blood Prince'! Was this chapter humorous enough? I find humor a very important ingredient in my writing, thanks a lot! (P.S, the mix of Harry and Nico's P. is purely intended)