Chapter one
Nico appeared in the Underworld throne room in his black tank top and skull pajama pants, half asleep and a little irritated by the suddenness of his calling.
It was 1am and he was pulled into the shadows to be brought to his father for reasons Nico hoped didn't end up in him going on another quest. When Nico had first taken a job as Hades' "quester" he usually didn't wear pajamas to bed. But, after being summoned one too many times to the Underworld in just his boxers, he decided to invest in some comfy sleeping clothes.
Nico yawned, stretching his arms out wide and rubbing away the blurriness still left in his eyes. "Wassup dad?"
Hades seem equally tired, probably kept up with the recent flood of paperwork.
"I have a quest for you," he said dully.
He looked up at Hades on his black throne with annoyance. "Really? This wasn't just a check in or something?"
Hades sighed, rubbing his face with his hands as if trying to wash away the sleepiness.
Nico sighed. there was no point in arguing, "So, where to now?"
"Scotland," Hades said in the same grey tone. As if the UK wasn't an ocean away.
If Nico had water in his mouth, he would have spit it out. "I'm sorry, what?"
"You have a quest request by Hecate. She needs you to go to her magical school-"
"Um, no," Nico stated, immediately declining the not offer. "I took up questing as a job rather than going to school. Questing! You can't make me do it!"
That was lie and both of them knew it. Nico had sworn an oath on the Styx to do the quests for his dad and the other gods of Olympus. The deal was that Nico would get paid for his work and he was also sworn to secrecy about any of the god's business.
"This isn't a normal school," Hades sighed, resting his head in one of his hands. "It's a magical school and . . . you know what? I'm just going to let Hecate explain."
As if on cue, there was a swirl of light and the goddess of magic appeared before him. She had pale skin like Nico's but her eyes were even darker than his own, and her black hair as dark as a moonless night as thick as a wool blanket. She wore a long, dark blue gown that made her seem like she was floating, which she could be for all Nico knew.
"Nicolo di Angelo," she said. She smiled and her eyes flashed green.
"Lady Hecate," Nico bowed, deciding not to correct her with his name. He had learned how to greet gods over the last few years of being a demigod, and bowing and knowing their name was always good way to start.
"I have a mission for you," the goddess told him in a delighted tone that should never be used that early in the morning.
"Bring it on," Nico sighed, just wanting to get it over with.
"Years ago," Hecate started dramatically (Nico had to suppress a groan), "when Ouranos was cut into pieces by Kronos, some humanlike creatures emerged from his ichor. They hid out through the Titan Ages and evolved into humans as Zeus took the throne, but they had some of the sky's blood in their veins, which granted them magical powers they learned to control through sticks they call 'wands'."
"Is this really necessary to the quest?" Nico asked as politely as one who was awake at 1am and sent to go on a possibly dangerous quest could.
"Yes, yes, I'll get to that. Now, when the gods took power, they came out of their little holes and showed off magic to the world and other, less powerful humans. When I became goddess of magic, I adopted these people as my . . . pets! The gods didn't like how they showed off their powers so to save them, I told them to go unground again, except not literally this time. They were to live amongst the mortals but only did magic in secret. As they lived and started making more and more babies with these powers, they started schools that are hidden from normal human's veiws and taught the kids magic. They also named themselves witches and wizards-"
"Wait," Nico interrupted. "There are actual wizards?"
"Of course there are wizards!" Hecate laughed like it was common knowledge that magical humans with sticks lived in the world. After a minute of laughter, she carried on.
"Anyway, there is a man by the name of Tom Riddle or as they call him, Voldemort, who has been brought back to life and is wreaking havoc across the wizarding and mortal world-"
"There's someone named Molywart?" Nico asked, unable to keep the question to himself.
Hecate gave him a stern look. The goddess' humor and patience seemed to have been waring off for the day. "No, Nicolo. His name is Voldemort and he is extremely powerful. For your quest, I need you to find and protect a trio of wizards named Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley. They are very important in an up coming war."
So I'm babysitting, Nico thought. Great.
"When am I needed to go?" He asked.
"I will give you half an hour to pack," Hecate allowed. "Oh, and you must not let anyone know in the magical world you're a demigod. That could turn nasty. Oh, and you'll be staying there all year!"
"Wh-!" Nico's exclamation was cut off by a swirl of fire that spun around him. It surrounded him and almost covered his vision but not heat came from it's flames.
"Good luck, son," Hades called from his throne.
Then Nico disappeared.
Nico appeared back in his cabin and the light outside signaled that it was almost sunrise. How Nico had spent hours in the Underworld, he didn't know. Hecate's magic may have interfered when he was in the fire or something but it didn't matter he needed to start packing.
He started pacing up and down his cabin, grabbing things he'd need like clothes, ambrosia, and knifes. Nico piled everything on to his bed and realized that he didn't have anything to carry it all in. That was when a black duffle bag slammed onto his head and landed on top of his stuff.
"Great," Nico sighed, annoyed with his shitty morning. He had planned to see Will and his friends who were off at school that day and he hadn't even slept yet. Now he had to break it to his boyfriend that he'd be leaving for nine months, and have do it with no sleep under his belt. Not that he hadn't not slept before, but he'd gotten a better schedule since last year when he and Will had returned from Tartarus and Mr. D insisted on continuing their morning conversations.
Thinking back on it, Nico hadn't realized how much had changed in the last year. Reyna had now spent a year with Artemis and the Hunters, Hazel and Frank had been Praetoring together for more than a year now, the rest of his had gone to college together, and Nico had now spent nine months as a quester for the gods.
Nico opened up the duffle bag that had most definitely been gifted to him by either Hecate or his dad, and began shoving his things inside it. He didn't have much he needed so he was done in a few seconds, leaving eight or nine minutes to break the news to Will.
He dug in his duffle bag and brought out a metal machine, the size of two fists, in his hand. He pushed a button on the side and water misted out and a tiny flashlight beamed through a crystal on top, creating a rainbow in the air. When Nico had taken up questing and his friends went off to school, Leo made Nico a Iris message travel machine so he could always call when needed. Nico barely used it during his missions, but it was handy to have around.
A drachma was shining as it laid on top of Nico's shirt he packed. He grabbed the coin and threw it into the water.
"Oh, goddess Iris," he recited. "Please accept this offering and show me Will Solace."
The rainbow shimmered and in its place was the beautiful face of Nico's boyfriend. He was sitting with his back against a bed and a book under his nose. Sounds of the other demigods were heard in the background but Will was staring intensely at his textbook.
"Hey, Sunshine," Nico called to his boyfriend, a smile lighting up his face.
Will's eyes shot up to meet Nico's though the blurry IM, "Neeks!"
"Nico?" someone asked.
Soon Piper, Jason, Percy, Annabeth, and Leo were crowded into the screen of the Iris message.
"What's up Death man?" Leo asked.
"I got a new quest from my dad," Nico explained with a sigh.
Piper's face contorted in confusion, "at six in the morning?"
"I was actually summoned at one."
"Well, what is it?" Jason inquired.
Nico went into an explanation of the last . . . five minutes? Five hours? Whatever, he wasn't told not to tell his friends so he told them about the wizards and his job to go to a school to babysit other seventeen-year-olds.
"So, I won't see you for a few months," Nico concluded his story.
His friends were staring at him like he told them Zeus was abstinent. Leo was even hanging off the bed behind Will's head.
"Woah," Jason wowed from his spot on the floor.
"Are you sure you don't want help?" Percy offered, perched on the bed.
Annabeth bent down from her spot on the bed and picked up a small book and hit her boyfriend over the head.
"Oops, sorry," Percy apologized, rubbing the side of his head.
Nico laughed, "Yeah, you've done enough Percy. Even if Annabeth would let you go, I wouldn't."
"Aw, you do care Death Breath," he whispered lovingly with a hand on his heart.
"Still not my type Waterboy," Nico told him with an eyeroll. It was his one leverage against him to end a conversation.
"Are you going to be okay," Will asked, his caring face closer to the message than anyone else's.
"I'll be fine, Will," Nico told him earnestly. He was going to school, how dangerous could it get?
Will still looked worried but suddenly Leo pounced on top of him, blocking everyone's face except his own.
"Bring me back a souvenir!" Leo yelled to him.
"Will do, Valdez," Nico said, sighing to hide a laugh.
Green fire suddenly enveloped Nico's body for the second time that day and he could hear the screams of his friends on the other side of the IM. His ten minutes were up.
"See you later," Nico called to them reassuringly before the world before him disappeared.
When Nico could see again, he found he was in some sort of office. There were many things pushed to the edges of the room and a phoenix was sleeping in a cage to his right. It looked a bit like a hoarder's house to Nico but that wasn't the strangest past. He looked at the walls and noticed that all of the paintings of old people's faces and bodies were . . . moving. Nope, that wasn't weird at all.
"You must be Nicolo," a voice greeted a person in front of him who Nico hadn't noticed before.
He focused on the center of the room where a very old looking man was sitting at a fancy desk under a chandelier. He had long white hair and fair skin with wrinkles along with old man freckles dotting his face. Half moon glasses decorated his blue eyes and he seemed to be wearing a white robe of some sorts. He seemed to be a thousand years old and Nico couldn't decide if that made him wise or crazy.
"It's Nico," Nico corrected kindly, moving his attention from the staring panting to the old man.
"My apologies, I am Albus Dumbledor," the man told him with twinkling eyes. "Please, take a seat."
Nico looked warily at the chair that was across from the man. He didn't know if he could trust him or how much he knew about Nico and his world. He knew his name at least so Hecate must have told him something.
He walked over to the seat and sat down, staring at the man with a face he painted of curiosity and wonder, creating a character as to not show his suspicions.
"Welcome to Hogwarts," Dumbledor greeted, gesturing with only one arm in the room. "I am the headmaster and I apologize about the state of the place.
"Nice to meet you, sir," Nico greeted politely. "No need to apologize, you must be very busy."
Dumbledor smiled and it seemed light enough but there was an undertone of something else underneath, something more sinister. The years he had lived had taken a toll on him and he seemed to find Nico's presence . . . interesting. And not in a curious way but in a way that made you feel like a rat in a science lab.
"I have been told you are a very special wizard," Dumbledore said, leaning towards him. "You are from America, correct?"
"Yes," Nico confirmed, unsure what he was getting at.
"You have never done magic before?"
"Not on purpose."
"And do you have a wand?"
Nico realized that he didn't. How could Hecate forget that!
"No," Nico replied shyly.
"Well, I was told to give this to you by your teacher." The old man brought out a box and set it on the desktop, but Nico wasn't looking at it. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the man's hand was black with decay, like it would crumble away at any moment.
"Nico." Nico looked up at the man and focused back into their conversation, putting the hand out of mind.
"What were you saying, sir?" Nico asked.
Dumbledore smiled a twinkling smile. "I was asking if you would you would like this box?"
Nico nodded and took the box off the desk. He rested it in his lap and opened the top. Inside was a dark brown wand, if it were a few shades darker it would be black. It was about 10 inches and had dark carvings swirling around it and up to the point like some kind of wooden unicorn horn.
"You have never held a wand before?" the old man asked.
"No," Nico responded, holding the stick in his hands. It vibrated in his hand and he could almost feel all of the shadows in the room. "I didn't get to do much magic before. I didn't even know I was a wizard until a few hours ago."
It was all a lie of course, but Nico had gotten good at lying quickly and easily.
"How come you aren't schooling in America?" Dumbledore asked, clearly curious about Nico's 'specialness'.
Nico set the box on the ground before answering the question. "In America there are no boarding schools and I don't have any family to stay with so . . ."
Dumbledore looked like he was going to ask about his parents but thankfully someone came through the door behind them.
"Ah, Severus," Dumbledore greeted with a smile.
Nico turned to see a man in black robes and greasy hair walk towards them with a stride like a racehorse.
"The children are here," he said in a nasally voice that was said slowly as if his mouth was full of honey.
"Thank you. I'll send Nico with you to see he gets to his proper place."
He gestured to the greasy man and Nico got up from his chair with a quick bow before following the pale man out of the room.
Severus led Nico out the door of the office where there were winding steps down to a big hallway. They walked through many hallways and down many stairs that actually moved under their feet and saw more people moving in paintings, until they reached a small corridor with a door three times Nico's height at least.
"Wait here," the man snarled. "We'll sort the first years and when you hear your name called, you will walk out and put the hat on."
"Put the what?" Nico asked, but Severus was gone.
Many minutes passed and Nico could hear the muffled noise of people entering the room on the other side of the door. After a few minutes of voices chatting and something like chairs scraping the floor, more footsteps were heard except unlike the ones before, these ones were lighter. Probably younger children.
The footsteps came closer to where Nico waited than the ones of the older kids, stopping a couple of feet away by the sound of it. A hush fell in the room before someone was singing. They sang about coming together to defeat evil and four houses called Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, and Gryffindor. According to the song, Hufflepuff was for the hard-working, loyal, and fair. Ravenclaw was for the smart and wisdom seekers. Slytherin for the resourceful, ambitious, and cunning. And Gryffindor was for the brave, determined and courageous.
Nico had known that schools in Europe had houses so it didn't surprise him that Hogwarts did too. If he had to guess where he would end up, he'd say Slytherin. Most people wouldn't refer to him as 'smart' or 'loyal' or 'courageous', except maybe Jason.
After the song ended, a woman's voice started calling out names. She must've been calling them by their last name first because no one's first name was "Hughes". After a name was called there would be silence before a voice similar to the singing one would call out one of the houses and the room would cheer. From the sound of it, Slytherin was closest to him, then Ravenclaw, then Hufflepuff, and Gryffindor on the other end.
Once all the names must have been called, someone very close to Nico's door stood up and everything went silent.
"Now, we have something a little different this year," Dumbledor's voice, muffled but distinct, called to the room. "We have a new student that is joining our sixth years. He is an exchange student from America so I hope you will treat him with the utmost respect while he is with us. Please welcome, Nico di Angelo."
If he hadn't been trying to stay undercover, Nico would have shadow traveled into the room and made a scene starring him. But, no "Underworldy" magic according to Hecate so he just opened the doors and walked in like a normal person.
He came in behind what looked like a staff table and stretched out in front of him were thousands of kids in black robes sitting on benches by tables. He could see that his guess was right about who sat where which was a bit reassuring but with everyone staring he was getting nervous. Not wanting to make eye contact with anyone, Nico focused on the ceiling, not staring at it, but seeing it out of the corner of his eye. There were candles floating and the ceiling looked like it was open to the sky.
Nico walked past the table of peering adults and walked to a lady he assumed he was supposed to go to. She looked pretty old and wore green robes and was also holding a rolled up piece of paper under her arm.. He walked up to a witch and she gestured for him to sit down on a stool that had a hat on it.
He gave her a questioning look, but picked up the hat and sat. He gave the witch next to him one last look before placing that hat on his head. Somehow, it covered his eyes and he was placed in darkness that wasn't very comforting since he could feel the eyes that were still on him.
"Hello," a voice said in his mind.
Nico almost flinched but refrained so as not to cause any panic, "what the-"
"I am the Sorting Hat," the voice said. "I will be sorting you into your house."
So the wizards decide their houses via a talking hat, Nico thought. Lovely.
"Could you explain how this sorting and house stuff works?" Nico asked hopefully.
"Ah, yes. I see you are Italian but you've lived in America so here's how it works, I will yell out a name and the witch next to you, Professor McGonagall, will gesture to one of the four tables who are probably cheering the loudest, and you will take a seat there. The students can tell you everything else you need."
"Okay."
"Good. Now I'll take a look inside this brain of yours."
"Could you not actually?"
"No. It's mandatory."
"Well, can you not look at anything too personal?"
"I can try."
There was silence for a minute and Nico felt himself tense as he imagined the hat seeing his memories.
"Ah," the hat finally said. "I see a lot of loyalty to those close to you. You also take in much information from the world, very wise and smart indeed. Your cunning is definitely shown in your many battles and you are always resourceful. Your courage and bravery to save your friends without a second thought is very prominent. You could very well fit into every house but that is not an option so I know just where to put you."
"Thanks." Nico told him.
"No problem," the hat responded.
"Gryffindor!" The hat said out loud and there was a big round of applause as the hat was lifted from his eyes and was met with the cheers of many students.
Nico looked to the witch, McGonagall, and she gestured to a table with a red and gold banner above it who were definitely cheering louder than any other table. He walked down the steps to the tables and took a seat next to a curly brown haired girl who was smiling at him warmly. Her skin was white and eyes brown like her hair, giving her a warm feeling. She had the eyes of a child of Athena, filled with knowledge and the hunger for wisdom. It confused Nico why she was at the Gryffindor table and not Ravenclaw's.
"Hi," she greeted, holding out a hand. "I'm Hermione Granger."
"Hello." Nico shook her hand. "Nico di Angelo."
"Now," the Headmaster's voice quieted the cheers and all eyes turned to him including Nico's. "I believe it is time to eat."
In front of Nico, the whole table shimmered and food appeared magically on top of it. It reminded him of the camp's goblets that filled with whatever drink anyone wished.
"Thank Merlin!" a red haired boy next to Hermione cried. He quickly grabbed plates of food and dumped them onto his personal plate.
"Ron," Hermione scolded, swatting his arm.
"What?" the red head, Ron, complained.
So those were the two he was supposed to watch. They seemed easy enough. The only question was where was Harry?
He didn't have the energy to think about that now. Instead, Nico looked at the food in front of him and hesitantly grabbed some mashed potatoes and chicken. He had been working with Mr. D on expanding his diet by mass and he had a good, full meal most days, but being in a foreign place with people he didn't know made his stomach churn and his appetite dissapear.
"So," Hermione asked, looking at him as he choked down a bit of green beans. "What's magic in America like?"
Nico swallowed his food, using the silence to think of an answer. "Well, we don't really do much magic in America. Government doesn't like it."
Hermione frowned, "aren't there schools there?"
"Yes," Nico answered. As far as he knew, there were no wizards in America at all, but she could believe whatever she wanted. "They're pretty underground or have tight rules. Not really my style."
Hermione nodded. Suddenly, a giant door at the end of the room opened and Nico turned to see a boy with black hair, much like his own, walking in a stomp over to the Gryffindor table and collapsing into a spot in-between Ron and Hermione.
"Where've you-" Ron started to ask, but then he cut himself off when he looked at the boy's face. "Blimey, what've you done to your face?"
Nico leaned forward to see and was unimpressed. The guy's face was covered in dry blood from what seemed to be a nosebleed but Nico could see no injury except an old looking scar on his forehead. Of course a mortal would think an injury that mild was bad, but Nico had been in wars and helped out Will in the infirmary so he'd seen a lot.
"Why, what's wrong with it?" the bloody boy asked. He picked up a spoon and examined himself in the reflection, gasping at what he saw.
"You're covered in blood!" Hermione cried, stating the obvious. "Come here-"
The witch took out a brown stick, that was probably her wand, and said "Tergeo!" The black haired boy's blood dissolved and left a clean pale face beneath it.
"Thanks," he said gratefully, touching his newly washed face. "How's my nose looking?"
"Normal," Hermione told him anxiously. "Why shouldn't it? Harry, what happened? We've been terrified!"
"I'll tell you later," the boy said curtly.
"But-" Hermione protested.
"Not now, Hermione," Harry said a little darkly. He looked over to Hermione and gave her a look, but that's when he saw Nico.
"Who are you?" he asked rather rudely.
"I'm Nico. Nico di Angelo," he added quickly as he remembered he was in the UK and people usually call others by their last names.
Harry looked at him weirdly. "Are you American?"
"Technically, I'm Italian. But yes I'm an exchange student from America," Nico replied, trying to keep the annoyance out of his voice.
Harry nodded, looking him up and down like he was trying to see through him, and then turned back to his friends.
Nico was prepared to eavesdrop on their conversation but a body suddenly shouldered into his, and he had to try to not fall over on the impact.
"Hi!" a cheerful brunette said, squeezing in next to him, a few of her friends took the opposite side.
"Hi," Nico said politely, scooching away from her as much as he could.
"So, you're American?" a blonde girl across from him asked, leaning towards him and twirling her fingers in her hair.
"Yeah," Nico replied dryly, trying to choke down a small spoonful of mashed potatoes so he had an excuse to not talk to them.
"You don't sound really American," another girl, short brown hair and shyer than the other two, pointed out.
"Yeah, I was born in Italy."
"Wow," the brunette next to him gasped. "That's so cool! So you speak Italian?"
"Yeah."
"Say something!"
Nico thought for a moment. "Lasciami in pace. Sono gay."
The girls giggled, unaware of what I had just told them.
"So. . ." the blonde girl across from him asked. "Do you usually live with your parents?"
"My parents are dead," he deadpanned (joke unintended).
"Oh no!" The brunette touched his arm and Nico filched and fought the urge to break her wrist. "I'm so sorry!"
He wiggled his arm away from her reach before responding, "yeah, I guess. . ."
"The best of evenings to you!" Dumbledor's voice echoed through the room. He was standing up at the staff table, arms wide in a big hugging motion. It would have been welcoming except for the fact that the headmaster seemed to forget one of his hands was decaying.
There was a gasp from behind and Nico heard Hermione whisper, "What happened to his arm?"
Whispers and murmurs flitted through the hall, Nico kept his eyes trained on Dumbledore, not disturbed by the black hand. As Nico was fixed on Dumbledor, he felt something on top of his foot under the table. He glanced over and saw the blonde girl smiling cheekily at him. He inwardly groaned and ignored the contact, moving his foot closer to himself and fixed his eyes back on the headmaster.
"Nothing to worry about," the Headmaster told them airily and shook his purple sleeved robe over the decaying hand. "Now. . . to our new students, welcome, to our old students, welcome back! Another year full of magical-"
Something touched his foot again, and Nico could now feel the girl tapping it gently. He hated contact, he was gay, and he was taken so his anger and annoyance was bubbling. It took all of his willpower to not snap at the girl or dislocate her kneecap. Nico kept bringing his foot away, but the girl didn't get the hint and kept sliding closer to him, almost falling off her seat. He couldn't even hear Dumbledor's speech because his heart was pounding his ears, begging him to slip into his instincts and do something rash.
"-let us therefore say good night. Pip pip!" Dumbledor finished his speech and was ready to bolt out of the room.
The food vanished from all the plates, and Nico was about to get up and wander the halls until somebody helped him find his room, but the girls weren't going to give up so easily.
"We'll show you to the common room!" The girl next to him squealed.
Nico was fully prepared to throw hands, and knives, when Hermione piped up behind him.
"We prefects will show him," she told the annoying girls and made a shoo-ing gesture towards them.
The girls gave her a dirty look and Nico one last smile and wave before scurrying off.
"Thank you," Nico told her sincerely.
"No problem," she replied with a smile. "Ron and I will show you to the common room."
***
Ron, Harry, and Hermione walked with him through the labyrinth of a school until they got to a portrait of a beautiful lady.
"Password," the lady said.
"Mimbulus mimbletonia," Hermoine said to the woman.
The portrait woman nodded and swung open to reveal a hole in the wall. Ron, Harry, and Hermione walked over to the hole and climbed through so Nico followed and did the same.
Going through the portrait hole was an intense experience for Nico, since his heart hammered and his legs shook as he crawled through the tiny tunnel. Eventually, he fell out into a cozy looking room filled with people and couches. There was a fire place where two couches, a comfy chair, a table, and a rug were placed around it. More chairs and tables and other furniture were placed behind them, and there was definitely a color scheme of red and gold.
"I'm going to unpack my things," Hermione told them and turned to one of the two staircases across the room and climbed up them, leaving Nico with Ron and Harry.
"I'd like to unpack too," Nico told them.
"Alright mate," Ron beckoned Nico over to the other set of stairs. "We'll show you our room.
Ron seemed chill, leading him up the stairs and answering a few conversational questions, which Nico appreciated since he was one of the three kids he was watching. Harry, on the other hand, kept giving him looks like he was watching a prisoner who was being escorted to the lunch hall. Having received those kinds of looks before, Nico didn't care too much, but it reminded him of when he wasn't seen as a hero or friend. He had gone to two camps and a few schools in his time and everywhere he went it was like he had to prove he wasn't bad.
"This is the room," Ron told him, gesturing to the door in front of us. "I'm not sure if you'll have a bed though now that I think about it."
"That's alright," Nico said. "If there isn't one I'll just sleep on the couch."
"Why would you sleep on the couch?" Harry asked invasively. "Why not the floor of the room?"
Nico gave him a questiong look. "Do you want to sleep on the ground?"
"I slept in a cupboard under a set of stairs for eleven years."
Nico was going to ask why, but instead he blurted, "Well, I lived in the streets since I was ten, so no, I don't wish to sleep on the ground anymore."
Harry looked at Ron but the redhead just shrugged. He opened the door and Harry and Nico's debate seemed to be over nothing because there were six beds inside, double the amount they needed.
"Wow," Nico said, stepping across the threshold and into the room. "They brought three extra beds?"
"No," Harry corrected. "We have three other roommates."
Nico froze. Roommates? He had never had a roommate before, except when Hazel stayed at the Hades cabin once and Will sleeping over didn't really count. It wasn't against people (although Nico hated that too) he just usually has nightmares that wake him up in a cold sweat and most of the time he screams. How could he not blow his cover now?
"We'll be in the common room if you need anything, mate," Ron told him, one hand in his robe pocket. He really wasn't looking forward to wearing those.
"Alright, thanks," Nico replied.
Harry and Ron left the room, closing the door behind them. Nico walked to a bed that had his duffle bag next to it, courtesy of Hecate he presumed, and sat down on it. It was a four poster bed and he noticed that there were curtains around it. Maybe he would get at least a bit of privacy. Perhaps there was a soundproofing spell of something that could save his roommates from being woken by his screams. He'd have to ask Hermione.
Nico bent down and dug through his bag until he brought out his IM machine. He took out a golden drachma and turned it on. Water sprayed and despite the bad lighting of the room, the crystal created a rainbow in the air. He said the usual words and the rainbow shimmered.
"Hey sunshine," Nico said and the blonde boy on the other side of the message, who was once again reading, jumped.
"Nico!" he exclaimed, half in fear and half in excitement. "How is it going in the UK?"
"Good," Nico sighed. "Two of the kids I'm watching are pretty nice, but one of them doesn't like me very much."
"Wonder why," Will thought playfully.
"Hey!" Nico exclaimed.
"What? You're not exactly Mr. Friendly."
Nico could come up with a response to that, so he changed the subject.
"Why are you awake at, like, 1am?"
"How would I not?" Will sighed. Med school was hard on Nico's boyfriend and he seemed to always have something he had to do for school.
"Med school is not good for your health," he informed Nico.
"How is med school hard for you? You're a child of the medicine god."
"That doesn't mean I'm good at writing essays."
Nico scoffed, "fair enough."
The door to the room opened and Nico quickly hid the machine and Will behind his back.
"Nico?" Hermione asked, walking into the room.
"Yeah," he responded, shifting on the bed.
"Oh, hi," she said a little awkwardly. "I was wondering if you wanted to play a game with me, Ron, Harry, and some other Gryffindors. Not those girls though."
"Alright," Nico agreed. "I'll meet you down there."
Hermione smiled and left. Nico brought Will back out and he seemed to be filled with questions.
"That was Hermione," Nico explained. "She's one of the people I'm watching."
Will nodded in understanding. "Who are the 'girls'?"
Nico felt his face flush with annoyance and embarrassment. "Some annoying girls who don't speak Italian."
He laughed and Nico felt his face go hotter.
"Okay, I have to go," Nico told him. "And you need to get some sleep."
"Alright," Will sighed, calming down. "I'll see you later, Neeks."
Nico and Will both wiped away the IM and Nico flopped down on his bed. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, thinking of Will and how nice it would be when he finally saw him again. After a minute to himself, he stuffed his IM machine back into his bag, and mentally prepared himself to spend another hour with people.