This chapter is kind of an overview of everyone's thoughts/feelings over the days following Halloween. Enjoy!

Harry

If Harry thought that things would improve once everyone got used to the idea of him being the Hogwarts' champion, his first day back at lessons showed him just how wrong he was.

It seemed he couldn't win; the older students were mad that he'd stolen their chance at glory and his fellow fourth-years resented him for keeping his method of entering to himself. Ron still wasn't talking to him and his barely-controlled feeling of panic followed Harry wherever he went.

"What have you done?" Professor Sprout demanded Nico, her normally smiling mouth puckered in a scowl.

"Uh…" Any other day Harry would've laughed at the expression on Nico's face as he backed away from the tray of Bouncing Bulbs they were repotting.

"Mr di Angelo, I repeat; What have you done?"

Nico squirmed uncomfortably between Will and Percy, who were both shaking with silent laughter. "I-it's not my fault! My stepmother – she hates me, she- ugh, never mind!"

Harry frowned, "His stepmother?"

"Persephone, right?" Hermione looked to Annabeth for confirmation.

"That's right," the older girl nodded, and Hermione glowed with pride, "The goddess of springtime – well, she doesn't get on very well with Nico."

Nico was now cursing in a language that sounded an awful lot like Ancient Greek, much to his friends' amusement.

"Out!" The Herbology professor cried, shaking her head hopelessly, "Class dismissed!"

Care of Magical Creatures did nothing to improve Harry's mood. Hagrid had the class take the Blast-Ended Skrewts for a walk which gave Malfoy plenty of time to taunt him.

"We're taking bets on how long you'll last," he sneered, "Goyle here reckons ten minutes but I put my galleons on five. Half the Triwizard champions have died…"

"Don't listen to him, Harry!" Hermione called, dodging her Skrewt's sting, "Percy, no!"

Percy's robes were smoking as he wrestled his Skrewt to the ground, sword in hand. The creature screeched as it struggled to escape the demigod's grasp.

"Let it go!" Hagrid cried, hurrying over, "It was only having a bit of fun!"

"It attacked me!" Percy protested, as Hagrid dragged him to his feet.

Hagrid scowled, "I thought Dumbledore confiscated yer weapons when ye arrived?"

"Weapons?" Malfoy's voice was an octave higher than usual.

Harry laughed nervously with the rest of the class, but he couldn't help noticing that Ron steadily refused to meet his gaze and continued to do so for the rest of the day.

The next few days were some of Harry's worst at Hogwarts. Only the demigods and Hermione kept him going but, even so, it was lonely, without Ron and with dislike pouring in from all sides. And Double Potions was the worst…

"Antidotes!" Said Snape, cold eyes glittering cruelly, "You should all have prepared your recipes by now. I want you to brew them carefully and then we will select someone on whom to test one."

"Hades' underpants," Will muttered, eyes watering from the fumes rising from his cauldron.

Nico cringed, "Don't, just… don't."

"Sorry," Will smirked.

A knock on the door interrupted them, and Colin Creevey edged into the room.

"Please, sir – I'm supposed to take Percy Jackson and Harry Potter upstairs. Mr Bagman wants all the champions."

"Very well," Snape glowered, "Jackson, Potter, leave your things. I want you back here to test your antidotes."

Colin squeaked, "Sir, they're supposed to take their things. Professor Dumbledore said-"

"Fine!" growled Snape, "Get out of my sight, both of you!"

Percy gathered up his books gratefully and it wasn't hard to see why; his cauldron was spewing sulphurous green smoke, making Annabeth cough. He was probably glad to get away before Snape had the chance to poison him with his own antidote.

"You ready?" Percy asked, and Harry nodded apprehensively.

Colin smiled at him as he led the way up the stairs, gazing at Percy in awe. Harry felt a twinge of jealousy, something he wouldn't have thought possible considering Colin had practically stalked him for the last two years. Percy was so much more clearly a champion than Harry, with his obvious experience and confident grin… No wonder some Hogwarts students were supporting him, instead.

It certainly didn't help that Ron was one of them.

"Good luck!" Colin left them at the right door. Harry took a deep breath, knocked and entered.

The desks had been pushed to the side of the small classroom, leaving a wide space where a paunchy photographer was currently fussing over Fleur. Great, Harry thought, just what he needed – more publicity.

"There he is!" A woman sporting bejewelled glasses so bright they made Harry squint cried, "The demigod!"

Percy looked startled. "Rita Skeeter," she beamed, wringing his hand, "Reporter for the Daily Prophet. Pleasure to meet you! Perhaps we could get an exclusive interview before the photos?"

"Uh, sure?" Percy glanced over his shoulder at Harry, his expression pleading – help! Harry grinned; he knew first-hand being in the spotlight wasn't always fun. Perhaps the wizarding world's sudden fascination with demigods wasn't such a bad thing, after all…

Percy

"So, Percy," Rita rubbed her acidic green quill affectionately, "What can you tell our readers about your tragic backstory?"

Percy pressed himself against the wall of the broom cupboard, eager to put as much distance between himself and the reporter as possible. Half of him wanted to tell the old harpy to shove off and poke her nose in someone else's business but the other half reminded him of why he was here; to make the wizards believe in Hecate. To do that, he might actually have to talk to the wizards.

"Uh…" he began awkwardly, "I don't know about tragic."

Doomed, more like.

"Well, you know about the old gods," he gestured vaguely, wishing Chiron was here to explain it, "Old Thunderpants and Poseidon – that's my dad – but the real reason…" Percy trailed off, distracted by the quill.

The seventeen-year-old heartthrob gushes enigmatically about his so-called "family."

"Yes, yes," Skeeter said, impatiently, "What about your personal life? Are you in a relationship?"

"Uh, I have a girlfriend, but I don't see what-"

The door to the broom cupboard was thrown open. "Now, now, Rita!" Ludo Bagman chuckled, "Don't hog the champion! It's time for photos!"

She pursed her lips, "Oh, well, but then-"

Percy darted out of the way before she could schedule a follow-up interview. He spent the next half-hour being poked and prodded by the photographer. When, at last, the champions were free to go, Dumbledore waved him over.

"Walk with me?" he murmured.

Percy got the feeling it wasn't a request, but he nodded, anyway. Dumbledore led him out of the cramped classroom, up a wide flight of marble steps and down a corridor bustling with wizards on their way to dinner.

"I haven't forgotten the real reason why you're here, Percy," the headmaster pursed his lips, "Perhaps it was too much to ask you to compete in the Triwizard Tournament."

"You think?"

A smile tugged at Dumbledore's lips, "The current History of Magic professor is a little, ah, out of touch with the students."

"Um…" Percy wasn't sure why he was telling him this, "Okay?"

"So," Dumbledore stroked his beard, thoughtfully – something Percy thought people only did in movies, "Maybe you and your friends would like to teach some classes, yourselves? Include the Greek world into the curriculum."

Percy stopped, "Oh."

"You see, Percy, I'm giving you an opportunity to accomplish your goal… teaching people about the gods to make them believe. In exchange, I ask only that you keep an eye on Harry during the Tournament."

"I was going to do that, anyway," Percy sped up to keep pace with the headmaster's large strides, "Harry's a good kid. I won't let anything happen to him."

"I sincerely hope so," the twinkle vanished from Dumbledore's eye, "Because I will do whatever it takes to keep my students safe. Do you understand, Percy?"

He understood; Dumbledore wanted to help them, but if something one of them did endangered his students in any way… He wouldn't hesitate to throw them out.

Percy respected that, but as he walked away to find his friends, one question weighed on his mind:

Whose side was Dumbledore really on?

Nico

The train's whistle pierced the morning air. Nico clung to his mother's robes to keep from being separated in the steady stream of people hurrying to board the steam engine.

"Ciao, Nico," His sister's hair was in his mouth as she hugged him goodbye, "I'll miss you."

"Bianca?"

He was dreaming. The knowledge made his heart ache; he wanted so badly for this to be real.

"Hurry, mia figlia," Maria di Angelo separated her children gently and Nico craned his neck to get a good look at his mother.

She looked younger than when he'd seen her in Persephone's garden… her hair longer, her eyes brighter. She wore crimson robes, like the kind Nico had seen at Hogwarts but that didn't make sense… His mother wasn't a witch, yet judging from his height, Nico was maybe six or seven which meant this wasn't a dream.

It was a memory.

"The Hogwarts Express leaves any minute," his mother urged. Nico blinked; the Hogwarts Express?

"Okay, okay," Bianca laughed. She ran toward the train, her robes flying out behind her.

"Bianca, wait!" Nico pushed through the crowds, after his sister. He didn't understand… Why was Bianca, a demigod born in Italy, going to wizarding school in Britain?

His foot caught on something and he was spent sprawling across the cobbled platform, grazing his palms. He bit his lip, tears prickling his eyes. This was crazy – Nico did not cry, but his seven-year-old self couldn't help it.

"Sorry about that," A voice said. Nico rubbed his eyes furiously, his teenage self embarrassed to be caught crying on the ground, while his child self looked around wildly for his mother. "You need to slow down, kid."

A teenage boy loomed over him, offering a pale hand. The real Nico was older than him by a couple years but he felt seven-year-old Nico's sharp pang of fear. The older boy had dark hair, slicked back, and snake-like eyes and something about his smile was off, like an alien trying to imitate human emotion.

"Nico?" Bianca appeared above him, "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah," he scrambled to his feet.

"He was running, and he tripped on my cloak," the boy explained.

"Oh," Nico didn't like the way the boy was staring at his sister, "I'm Bianca di Angelo, first year."

"My name's Tom. Tom Riddle."

The crowds vanished. Nico found himself alone in a dark and overgrown graveyard, the black outline of a church in the distance. A full moon bleached the landscape white.

"Bianca?" He turned and found himself faced with a crumbling headstone, the name etched into the pale marble clearly visible in the moonlight.

Tom Riddle.

"Bianca?"

His body lurched, and he found himself in his bed in the Gryffindor dorm, drenched in sweat. Still trembling, he struggled to untangle himself from the red and gold sheets.

"Nico?" Will's voice called softly across the room, "You okay?"

"Yeah," he swallowed, "Just a bad dream." No need to go into details; Will didn't need to remember what a freak his boyfriend was by reminding him that he was alive almost a century ago.

"Tartarus?" he asked sympathetically.

Nico didn't answer. He didn't want to lie but he didn't understand what he'd seen, either.

"I… I don't want to talk about it."

Will nodded, understandingly. "Night, Death Boy."

Nico smiled. He might not know much about his past, but he could deal with that, so long as Will was in his future.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed/followed/favourited the story. Keep letting me know what you think! From now on, I will be posting every 2/3 days so keep reading and have a great week.

aRTsyisAwesome, you asked a few important questions - the magic Percy used is spontaneous and therefore isn't a specific spell/doesn't have a specific incantation. It is fuelled by his emotions, like Harry does with the snake at the zoo before he discovers he's a wizard. In this case, Percy wants to protect his friends. Also, no, Cedric will not be competing. I don't want to copy the storyline of TGOF too much because I think sometimes it can make a fanfiction like reading a badly-written version of the original but, on the bright side, this way Cedric doesn't die! The last scene will still be full of drama though so keep reading ;)