Disclaimer- I don't own anything except the Ocs in here.

Hermione was taking it better than he had expected.

She hadn't called him crazy so far or a liar but she had an interesting way in dealing with the information.

No, instead of accusing him of lying, the girl simply paced back and forth in anxiety.

Nico sighed as he watched Hermione paced back and forth the exhibit as she process the information that he had given her. Occasionally, the teenage girl would glance at him and than mutter a couple of words under her breath, before continuing pacing. Sometimes, she would shook her head and curl her hair before furrowing her eyebrows.

What in Hades is going through her mind?

"So…you're saying that the Greek Gods exist?" Hermione asked hysterically. "You are seriously saying that Zeus and the other Greek Gods exist!" The sound of lightning could be distantly heard but they ignore it. "Do you know what the hell are you saying?"

"First off, don't call the Gods by their name." Nico said calmly as he lead the girl to a bench. "Second off, I know just how crazy it is but you saw the proof right in front of you."

"That's just mere coincidence."

Nico rolled his eyes at her and dryly said. "Tell me, Hermione where have you seen Cyclops in a museum? I'm curious to know because as far as I concern, it's not normal to see one in a museum."

The brunette girl smiled at this and chuckled. "I guess that's stupid of me to say." She said softly. "But…it's just so hard to believe that they're real…I can believe the Cyclops but not the Greek Gods…"

"It just doesn't make sense." Nico said, finishing her sentence.

She nodded her head at him and laughed. "I feel like an idiot, too." She said weakly. "It explains everything…the attacks when I was young and how the teachers seems to hate me and maybe my strange fixation with water."

"Probably not the last part." Nico yawned. "I'm the son of Hades, I don't like going to graveyards even through I spend so much time there."

She smiled at him and looked down at her knees before smiling at the older boy. "That may be true but don't you feel like you're closer to your parent when you're there?" she asked. "I mean when I'm near the sea…I feel like I belonged there and I'm closer to my home…" she blushed at what she just said.

Nico sighed at the girl's question and put his hands in his pocket as he thought over her question. Well, when the girl put it that way then yes, he felt like that he's home. But how strange must it be if he admits that to people. No one will understand this. Not even Emily will understand this.

She hates graveyards and made it a point to tell him this.

"My feelings towards graveyards are complicated."

The brunette girl nodded. "I can understand that. I love the sea but at the same time, I'm frighten of it." She admitted reluctantly. "My Dad lost one of his siblings to the sea and ever since then, he made it a point to make sure that I never go near it. He always told me frightening stories about it."

"Do you know who your parents might be?"

"No." Hermione answered sadly. "My adopted parents only told me that my biological Mom might be closer to me then I think but…they said nothing about my biological Dad."

"That sucks."

The brunette girl nodded her head and looking down at the stick, blinking her chocolate-brown eyes as if she just realizes that she was holding it. "Oh shit!" she yelled. "I'm going to be in so much trouble for what I did! What was I thinking?"

Why would she be in trouble? She wasn't the one that killed the security guard or battling it! If anyone should be cussing, it should be me! Nico thought grumpily. It was also bad enough that he made a bet to Chris that he wasn't going to be reckless.

"I'm going to get expelled!" Hermione said, looking to be on the verge of crying. "Why did I have to be so damn stupid to do this? And I'm supposed to be the smart one! I can just imagine Harry and Ron's reaction when they learn of what I did…and Aunt Susan is going to be so disappointed in me."

"Can you shut your babbling, Hermione!" Nico snapped, causing the girl to sniffle. He gulped when he saw that the tears in her eyes. "Hermione, it's going to be alright." He said, patting her awkwardly on the back while cursing his situation.

He was sure that the gods hated him.

Why was he the one to comfort her? Why wasn't Chris the one to defeat the Cyclops or to explain to her? He would be so much better than him when it came to comforting her. Hell, the boy had so much experience in this department because of his sisters.

"You don't understand!" The brunette girl bawled. "I wasn't suppose to use magic-"

"Magic? As in waving wands and all that kind of shit?"

The brunette witch became quiet before muttering several curses under her breath. He watched as the girl looked at him in curiosity before shaking her head, looking quite furious as she did this. The question was, was she furious with herself or him?

"I can't tell you." She grumbled. "I already broke enough rules as it is, I'm not going to break anymore!"

"What harm will breaking one more rule do?" Nico inquired, giving the brunette one of his most dazzling smiles that he can muster. "I'm trustworthy, you know."

The brunette girl snorted. "Yes and I'm the Queen of England." She said sarcastically. "Next thing I know, I'll be fluttering my eyelashes to the hottest guy I see and act like a bloody idiot!"

"Well…" Nico said, putting his hands into his pockets as he gave her a pointed look.

"You're an ass." Hermione hissed. "Do you honestly think that I'm that shallow? If I was that shallow then there'll be no reason why I would question you!"

The son of Hades smirked. "Well, from what I've seen in Camp, most girls are shallow." He taunted. "And for all I know, you might just be the same, just as shallow as the-" Nico didn't finish his sentence as the brunette witch slapped him hard on the cheek.

The brown-eyed girl's eyes blazed in anger and for the first time in his life, Nico felt scared. "You don't have any damn right to call me shallow." She growled. "You have no idea about the life I live!"

"I bet it has been filled with no hard work!"

"I worked very hard in my life!" she hissed as she prodded her finger on his chest. "I'm not some slacker, unlike some idiotic boy that has no idea about my life!"

He glared at her comment and opened his mouth to yell right back at her when they heard the sound of footsteps coming closer. Grabbing Hermione's arm, Nico quickly hid himself and the girl behind the pillar. She glared at him and opened her mouth to shoot couple of curses, but quiet down when she saw the tense look in his face.

"Nico, are you here?" A familiar voice yelled out. "What's taking you so long to defeat the Cyclops? I thought that you would have defeated hours ago! And don't even think of pretending to be dead again because I'm not taking that bullshit now!"

The black-haired boy loosened his grip on Hermione. "I'm behind the pillar!" he yelled. "And why in Hades would you think that I'm pretending to be dead!"

"It would be just like you!" Chris answered as he walked towards them. "Why the hell would you be hiding behind a pillar…Hermione?" he squeaked when he notice that she was held close to Nico's back. "Why're you holding Hermione like that Nico? Is there something you're not telling me?"

The black-haired boy blushed and let go of the girl. "This isn't the time to be teasing me, Chris!" He yelled. "Seriously, why can't you be serious about something? I've to inform your friend about the Greek Gods while you were doing gods knows what."

Chris blinked his eyes and glanced at Hermione, who was trying her hardest to make any eye contact to them. He sighed and put his hand on the brunette's girl shoulder. "I can't really say anything since Nico explained to you, but I bet he didn't make any jokes about it." He teased. "I mean seriously, Nico can never make a joke about these type of things!"

"This isn't a topic to make a joke about, Christopher!" Nico growled. "Do you want me to make some lighthearted joke about this!"

"See, what I mean?" Chris said, nudging the girl. "And I don't want you to end up like grumpy old Nico! I want to see my smart friend grinning and not behave like the grumpy Nico!"

The brunette witch smiled weakly at him and the boy beamed at her. "Now, that's the Herms I know." He frowned. "Since you know now, maybe we should inform your Aunt that you're going to Camp Half-Blood."

Hermione looked at him as if he was crazy, which he probably was. "Are you mad, Chris? I can't tell my Aunt about Camp Half-Blood." She bellowed. "Aunt Susan will think that I'm mad! Honestly, what type of sane person will believe this kind of stuff."

"You did." Nico said dryly.

Chris hit the boy on the head. "I don't think that this is the time for you to comment." He said calmly. "You already made Hermione distressed as it is and this may be a time for you to be quiet."

Hermione smiled. "He didn't make me feel distressed, Chris." She said softly. "He was actually trying to comfort me."

The son of Hermes frowned at her and than looked at Nico before nodding his head at them. "All right but that doesn't explain why you seem so distressed!" he said, giving her a concern look. "You know that you can tell me anything!"

"I know Chris but seriously, you think that it'll be a good idea to tell my Aunt about this?" she asked wearily. "Aunt Susan is open-minded but she seriously can't be that open minded!"

"Well, we won't know until we tell her." He said brightly. "Besides…we need to tell her something and why not tell her the truth?"

"Maybe because she might think we are crazy and should be lock up in a institute home!" Nico said darkly. "You also have to consider the idea that she might become mad."

Hermione blinked her eyes at him and asked. "Are you seriously? You mean to tell me that my Aunt will become crazy if we tell her the truth?"

"It's been known to happen." Nico said, shrugging his shoulders at her. "I wouldn't be surprise if your Aunt might become crazy because of this or think we're crazy. After all, nearly no one believes that the Greek Gods are real."

The brown-haired boy lightly slapped the boy on the head. "Don't believe him, Hermione! I assure you that your Aunt won't become like that after all, the chances of that happening is rare." He assured her. "Besides, I think she will believe us and not send us to a mental institution."

"That doesn't make me feel better." Hermione muttered weakly as she curled her hair around her finger. She gazed at the two boys and looked away when Nico started to stare right back at her.

Chris stared at the two of them and frowned as Hermione kept her eyes fixed on the ground while Nico peaked at the girl. Just watching the two of them interact made him think that Hermione was better for Nico than Emily. It's a pity that the boy won't leave Emily. The girl was a good girl but she just flirts too much and was easily jealous.

The girl just didn't make Nico smile like the way he used to or act like himself. She's just too controlling, not something that his friend should deal with. But atlas, he couldn't really destroy their relationship can he?

Through the idea was tempting…

Yes, very tempting.

Susan crossed her arms and tapped her feet impatiently at the sight of Nico being bruised and Hermione looking guilty. Chris, seems to be the only one that was acting like his usual happy-go-lucky self. Her eyes linger on the bruise arms of the black-haired boy and a part of her just wanted to heal the boy.

Of course, she held it in. This wasn't the time for her to be an overbearing woman; through they really were troubling her.

Hermione smiled timidly and said. "Aunt Susan, there's something that I should tell you about."

"Does it explain why Nico seem to be so bruised up or why you seem to be so guilty?"

Nico blinked his eyes at the sight of the brunette girl nervously tugging her shirt while the brown-haired woman smiled softly at her. The two of them looked like they could be related, with Hermione having the same hair color and eye color as the young woman. The older woman smiled kindly at him before returning her gaze at the young girl.

"Well, are you going to explain or not?"

Hermione fidgeted under her Aunt's glaze. "Well, you see Aunt Susan, I'm going to certain camp for the rest of the holiday." The girl started to babble. "It's because Nico told me that I'm half-blood, which sounds silly but it makes so much sense…I'll see you for the other holidays, if I'm not expelled by then and goodness I must sound like a madwoman."

"Hermione, calm down!" Susan barked, trying to make sense of what the girl was trying to say. The brunette girl flushed red and looked down at her feet. "Say that again and more slowly this time."

"I'm…I'm going to the same camp as Chris and Nico." Hermione said, hesitantly. "I'll be back in the end of the summer and I'll see you in the holidays." If I'm not expelled that is, Hermione added silently, remembering the offence that she made.

Susan frowned at her. Sadness and understanding shined through her Aunt's eyes and the young witch wonders if her Aunt knows the truth. Does her beloved, gentle Aunt know that she's a half-blood? Does she know that there's a chance that she won't be coming back home? No, of course not. Aunt Susan will tell her these types of things, wouldn't she?

She looks at the picture of her smiling parents and then to her sad Aunt, who stared hesitantly at her. There was pain and reluctance in the young woman like she wanted to say something, but she couldn't find the words to do so. It was so unlike her aunt. She was always so brave…so confident, but not this time.

It almost frightened her.

"You'll take care of her, won't you boys?" Aunt Susan asked softly, staring at the two boys. "Can you two make sure that she doesn't get into trouble? Hermione can be quite the troublemaker at times and I don't want to have any phone calls saying that she got into trouble."

"Aunt Susan, I don't get into-"

Aunt Susan waved her hands at her and continued. "I'm counting on you two boys to watch over her for me." They nodded their heads at her. "I want you two to promise me that you can keep her safe…make sure that she doesn't get hurt."

The sight of the tears in her Aunt's eyes took Hermione back. Not once, in her entire life had she seen the woman appear to look so heartbroken. Aunt Susan had always been so strong. So enthusiastic and carefree, always smiling and laughing even at the lamest jokes. Now, she no longer can see this. Instead, she sees a heartbroken aunt.

"…We'll keep her safe." Chris said quietly. "None of us want to see Hermione hurt."

"Easy for you to say. It's tempting for me to see her get hurt." Nico muttered under his breath. Chris slammed his foot on the son of Hades' feet, causing the boy to yelp out in pain. Hermione laughed while Susan simply smiled at the two boys.

He glared at his best friend and yelled. "What did I do to deserve that?"

"You're acting like a dick."

"I've no doubt that if it had been Emily, then you would say the same thing." Nico grumbled. "You even told her that she's ugly when you know she isn't."

"She's a tramp."

"No, she isn't."

Chris rolled his eyes and said. "Your girlfriend broke up with you and immediately jump on the first guy that she sees. Isn't that what they call a tramp?"

"You're a dick."

"Right…so she didn't purposely jump on my brother, just a few hours after the break-up right?" The son of Hermes asked sarcastically. "So, I must have imagine that she flirted with me a few days ago or that she was asking James if he would like…"

"Emily wouldn't do such a thing."

"She'll."

"She wouldn't!"

"Face it, Nico, your girlfriend is a grade-A tramp."

Hermione slapped the two boys on the cheek, causing the two of them to be quiet. Chris gulped at the sight of her and was now slowly starting to inch towards the door. It seemed like he remembered the last time she had been angry with him. Damn! She was hoping to frighten him again. Nico, on the other hand, glared right back at her.

"What the hell was that for!" Nico yelled. "I didn't do anything to deserve that slap."

"You two shouldn't be behaving like children." She yelled. "Ignore Chris' comments about your frickin' girlfriend."

"He insulted her."

"He insulted my Uncles and Aunts before along with my grandmother." Hermione shot back. "He once called my grandmother a lunatic, sadistic, religious woman…isn't that right Chris?"

The older boy smiled sheepishly while Susan laughed out loud at the comment. They all looked at the older woman in shock. "I'm not going to deny that my mother is very religious." She said, shrugging her shoulders. "She quoted the bible to the family more then a million times."

"She scolded my mother for having me out of wedlock." Chris supplied. "She said that I was basically a sin."

Hermione frowned while Nico grimaced at this news, looking quite horrified at hearing this. Susan, on the other hand, didn't look them in the eye and seemed quite interested on the floor. The brunette witch frown deepened. Is there something her Aunt isn't telling her? Has she been in Chris' mom shoes?

No, Hermione thought, grandmother would have disowned her.

But, she can't deny the fact that her aunt was hiding something.

The expression on her face was similar to that time when she told her about Hogwarts. It was like she have something to tell but, she can't tell. This was a trait that her aunt shared with her adopted father. A trait that she will admit that she also has.

"…I hope that the three of you have fun." Aunt Susan said, snapping her from her thoughts. "Just make sure that you call me to pick you up, Hermione."

"Yes, Aunt Susan."

"Don't get involved with any boys and never believe any words that they tell you."

"Aunt Susan!" Hermione cried. "Why the hell will you say such things?"

Aunt Susan smiled bitterly and answered. "Boys can be quite charming when they want to get something they want. You know they will say all the right things to melt you and before you realize it, you're just another notch in their bedpost."

"Bad experience with boys?" Nico asked in curiosity. "How many boys did that to you?"

"That isn't something you should ask her!" Chris hissed. "We don't want her to get pissed at us."

"What! Only a girl that have been used so many times will say such a thing." Nico said dryly. "Because I know for certain that your sisters don't think in that way." He directed his attention to her Aunt Susan. "So, Susan have you had any bad experience with boys?"

Susan raised her eyebrows at him and nodded while Hermione frowned. She didn't know much about her Aunt's past with boys but knew from her that her ex-boyfriends were assholes. They were many categories of assholes when it came to boys. The question is which category her aunt had been in?

"Just protect, boys." Susan said softly to herself, gazing down at her hands. "You two can protect her better then I can ever hope to do…because she'll need all the protection that she can get."

She just hopes that Hermione won't get herself seriously injured or heartbroken.

"This is it?" Hermione asked doubtfully, staring at the single archway which she had to pass through, it was shabby and worn, a tall pine tree over towering it, which also had a sleeping dragon. She didn't want to know why they have a dragon. They had been trekking through the forest for at least half an hour, of course the taxi driver refusing to go further then the beginning of the greenery. The brunette witch unconsciously rubbed her wand.

"Hard to believe right?" Chris said. "I remember my reaction when I learned that I had to go through that arch."

"I never really cared about the arch when I first came here." Nico said, gazing at the arch dismissively. "The only thing I cared at the time was the car."

"Car?" Hermione asked.

Chris smiled at her and answered. "He came with Percy and the others in Lord Apollo's sun chariot…or car as it is now seen."

"Whose Percy?"

"He's a idiotic man, lets go with that." Nico supplied helpfully. "His idiocy and recklessness knows no bounds."

"It's also contagious." Chris said. "As shown when Nico decided to take a Cyclops by himself."

Nico sighed, causing Hermione to laugh. The black-haired boy raised his eyebrows at her before shaking his head. A small smile lighted up his face as he chuckled at the comment. Chris smiled at them and slung his arms around their shoulders, before dragging them to the campsite.

The brown-eyed girl blinked her eyes when she saw there was a house that was not only big but also painted in bright blue. She was surprised to see a centaur and a man playing pinochle. This was definitely not a normal camp in anyway. She gazed at Chris and Nico, both of whom seemed unfazed at seeing this, which make sense. They have been here for a very long time.

"Hey, Chiron, Nico and me found a new half-blood during our trip!" Chris yelled, bringing the two players attention to them. "Don't know who her parent is but, we told her everything that we know."

"Chris that was completely rude thing to do." Hermione snapped at her friend while, Nico shook his head at him. "How many times has your mom told you not to interrupt anyone when they are playing a game?"

"Have I ever listened to my mother?"

"No."

"I think you two should stop your arguing and start telling Chiron about what in Hades' name happened." Nico said tiredly. "It's too early in the morning for you two to argue."

They raised their eyebrows at him and he sighed. This is going to be a long day, not because of the explanation but what will soon happen next. He knows that it will be a matter of minutes before his girlfriend knows that he's back.

Emily Espoir was not a girl that liked waiting for people and was a girl that knows she is pretty. She knows that she's one of the prettiest girls in the whole of camp. She's also one of the most sought out girls in the camp. She also had one of the hottest boys in camp as her boyfriend.

Nico Di Angelo.

Nico was a great guy and the perfect boyfriend. He was a great listener since he listened to all of her rants. He respects her and always considers her needs…well most of the time. He was also very romantic to her. Giving her a necklace, through it wasn't as expensive as she wanted to be. It wasn't even the necklace that she asked. He likes her for who she is and defends her from those accusations.

He was also quite gullible.

So gullible that she had him wrapped around her finger. She's certain that he will only look at her and not some other girl. So imagine her surprise when she hears from her half-sister Drew that her boyfriend brought a girl back, admittedly he brought her with Chris.

But still…

Why didn't he tell her?

"Is this girl pretty?" Emily asked one of her brothers. "Is she someone that I should worry about?"

"From what I saw, she's a real beauty…through not as pretty as you." He said hastily. Lucky for him, his sister did not notice her reluctance. "Chris was laughing with her while your boyfriend was rolling his eyes at them…."

Emily sighed in relief. It will not do her any good if Nico was in anyway interested in the new girl. She worked so hard to get him to notice her. It had taken three years of hard work to get him to notice her or to want her. She certainly didn't want all that hard work to go down the drain.

"…I won't mind going out with the new girl." One of her brother's said, gazing out at the window. "From what James told me, she looks like she will give me the time of my life."

"The time of your life?" Her other brother asked.

"She's quiet." He grinned at them. "And you know what they say about the quiet ones."

Emily frowned and looked at her older brother with suspicion. It isn't a surprise to hear that he wants to do something dirty with the girl, but it takes a lot to strike his interest. This was worrisome. If her brother was interested in the girl then what does it say about her boyfriend who brought her? Does he like the girl?

No, she won't allow it.

She will not allow her boyfriend to break up with her for some bitch. She will not loose her boyfriend to some girl that didn't have to work hard to grab his attention. She will not loose to some new girl. Her boyfriend is not allowed to breakup with her, only she is allowed to break up with him.

"You'll have a lot of competition, you know." Her other brother said. "From the looks of things, Chris seems to have a interest in her."

Emily sighed in relief. Nico will never betray Chris for a girl so, she doesn't need to worry about this but she won't let her guard down. She will make that girl's life in this camp miserable if she sees that Nico likes her in that way.

Author Note: I'm sorry if this chapter did not meet up to your expectation but I did have a writer's block. Please review and also please tell me about what you like about this chapter how I may improve it. Also to answer people's review about who Hermione is going to be with, well I'm leaning towards Nico but it might change. So please review to tell me, who you think Hermione should be with.