Hogwarts
A month passed in a blur. Nico was having a wonderful time at the Burrow, and when September first rolled around, he was sorry to be saying bye to the house for the better part of a year until the war with Kronos was over.
Yet, with a lot of confusion and hurrying, the Weasleys and Nico made their way to Kings Cross. They walked to the barrier, however, Nico spotted a boy with black hair and glasses pushing a trolley that had a trunk and a snowy owl in a cage on top.
“Mrs Weasley,” Nico said.
“Yes, dear?” She replied. Nico pointed to the boy. “Oh,” was all she said when she saw the boy.
And so they walked around the station for a bit longer, different Weasley kids calling out the platform number so that the boy might come up to them to ask for help.
It worked, surprisingly enough. Nico watched out of the corner of his eye as the boy came closer after Percy walked through the barrier. Then Fred and George.
“Excuse me,” the boy said. Mrs Weasley turned to face him.
“Yes dear?”
“Do you know–”
“How to get onto the platform?” Mrs Weasley finished for him. The boy nodded. “You just go through the wall there. Best to do it at a bit of a run if you’re nervous,” Mrs Weasley explained. Nico could tell that he was unsure about it, but he ran through the wall anyway, disappearing through it.
“You go next Nico,” Ron said. Nico nodded, and ran through the wall. It wasn’t as though he hadn’t run into walls before.
He went straight through this one, as though there was nothing there, and he found himself standing on the platform. Students were greeting friends and climbing onto the train, while parents walked about, talking to each other, or saying goodbye to their children.
Ron, Ginny, and Mrs Weasley appeared behind Nico. They walked along the length of the train together until they came to a part of the train where students were heaving their luggage onto the train. A girl with bright red hair like the Weasleys managed to get her trunk on by herself. A raven came to sit on her shoulder. It croaked something at her, and she smiled, reaching up to pet the black bird.
Nico tore his eyes off of her and went to put his things on the train.
“You’ll never guess who we just met on the train Mum,” Fred said.
“Who?” Mrs Weasley replied, distracted by the smudge on Ron’s face. George looked around and lowered his voice so that the group could hear him.
“Harry Potter,” he said, “the kid you helped onto the platform.” Mrs Weasley looked at her twins, then at the train.
“Poor dear. No wonder there wasn’t anyone with him,” she said.
“Can I go see him, Mum? Please?” Ginny asked. Nico raised an eyebrow, even though he knew that Ginny was a fan of Harry Potter – most of what he knew of the kid was based on what she’d told him.
“He isn’t a museum exhibit, Ginny,” Mrs Weasley scolded.
They eventually climbed onto the train – Fred and George with a promise of sending Ginny a Hogwarts toilet seat – and leaned out of the window as the train began to move.
“Thank you for letting me stay, Mrs Weasley!” Nico called out to her.
“Anytime, dear!” She responded, a smile on her face.
The train soon rounded a corner, and the parents on the platform disappeared. Nico turned to Ron.
“Let’s go find somewhere to sit, yeah?” He asked.
“Good idea,” Ron agreed.
They searched for a space to sit, peering into compartments. Unfortunately, everywhere was full.
They came to one that had only the Harry Potter kid in it. Ron turned to face Nico.
“Well, it’s somewhere,” he said.
“I honestly don’t care where we sit, as long as it’s not too crowded,” Nico told him. Ron shrugged.
“Alright, then.”
And he opened the door.
“Can we sit here? Everywhere else is full,” Ron said. Harry Potter shrugged.
“Sure,” he agreed. He went back to staring out of the window as Ron and Nico entered the compartment and sat down. Nico curled up into a little ball, staring out of the window despite being the farthest from it.
Ron was also glancing out of the window. However, his eyes kept darting to Harry. Nico nudged him with his foot.
“What?” Ron asked, snapping his attention to Nico. Harry watched the interaction with some sort of interest.
“Stop it, it’s rude,” he said.
“It’s alright,” Harry said. Both boys turned to look at Harry, and it was the first time that he took in his appearance properly.
His clothing seemed to be too large, hanging like an extra skin off of his frame. His glasses seemed to be held together by sellotape, and his hair was messy, sticking up at random intervals. His skin was a tan color, and the scar on his forehead stuck out, a stark silver on an olive skin tone. It cracked across his face, zig-zagging in a way that made it impossible to hide behind his hair. His eyes were an emerald green – only slightly different from Percy, who looked exactly the same, only older and with sea-green eyes instead.
“I was just saying, though. It’s rude to stare,” Nico said, moving his gaze away to look back out of the window. “Though, many more people are going to stare at you.”
“Guess I’ll have to get used to it then,” Harry said. Nico hummed in response, his mind wandering as it usually did.
“I’m Ron by the way, Ron Weasley,” Ron said, tearing Nico out of his thoughts.
“I’m Nico di Angelo,” Nico said.
Leaving out the ‘Son of Hades’ part was normal, as he normally hid it.
But it was a relief to know that he wasn’t a demigod while at Hogwarts. He was a Half-Blood, yes, but in the Wizarding world they were people who had one parent that was magical and another parent that was Muggle.
A welcome change from having a mortal parent and a godly parent.
“I’m Harry Potter. Though you probably already knew that,” Harry said.
That was all it took for the ice to break, and the three of them talked about whatever came to mind.
They were soon interrupted by a blond boy opening their compartment door.
“Can I sit here?” He asked. The three boys looked at each other. Nico shrugged. He honestly didn’t care if the boy did.
“Sure,” Harry said. The boy looked relieved as he entered the compartment and practically melted into the seat opposite of Nico.
“I can not stand the amount of people out there swarming me and asking me to be their friend just because I’m a Pureblood,” he said, screwing his face up at the last word. He looked around the compartment. “Oh! You’re a Weasley!” he exclaimed. Ron blinked.
“Uh-”
“Draco Malfoy,” the blond introduced himself.
“Oh,” Ron said. Draco seemed to notice, because he held his hand out.
“Want to stop the old feud that’s been going on in our families?” Draco asked. Ron looked at Draco’s hand then at Draco himself.
“You know what? Yeah,” he agreed, taking the proffered hand and shaking it. “Name’s Ron by the way.”
“Nice to meet you, then. You guys are?” Draco asked, looking over Nico and Harry. He saw his eyes flick to the scar, but he acted as though he never even saw it – a wise choice, in Nico’s opinion.
“I’m Harry, Harry Potter,” Harry introduced himself.
“I’m Nico di Angelo,” Nico introduced himself.
“Pleasure meeting you guys,” Draco said, a smile on his face.
The conversation continued, this time with Draco, and they exchanged jokes, laughing at the stupidity of them. Even Nico laughed, which hurt his cheeks, but he enjoyed it. He felt as though he was a normal child for once. Or well, as normal as a wizard child could get.
“Slytherins are known for being evil,” Ron eventually said.
“Actually, they’re not all evil, some are cunning out of necessity because of abusive homes. Others are ambitious because of not having enough money and having an ambition to get more, while others are just… not evil,” Draco said.
“Erm… Sure,” Ron said. Draco raised an eyebrow.
“I’ll prove to you that not all Slytherins are evil,” he promised.
“Someone could just be a Slytherin out of necessity,” Nico said. Ron turned to look at him. “You can’t judge someone because of something that they can’t control. A Slytherin can’t be judged as bad just because their house is notorious for it.”
“See? He gets it!” Draco said. Ron still didn’t look convinced.
A girl with bushy hair and the girl Nico had seen with the raven appeared in the doorway.
“Hey uh, we’re sorry if we’re disturbing you, but Neville’s lost his toad. Have you seen it?” The ginger asked.
“We haven’t, sorry,” Harry replied. The girl nodded, and the one with bushy hair gasped.
“What’s wrong, Hermione?” The ginger asked. Hermione pointed to Harry.
“You’re Harry Potter!” She exclaimed. The ginger looked at Harry, her eyes fliting over his scar. She shrugged.
“So? He’s a kid like us, Hermione. Fame doesn’t mean much, except that you’re really well-known for one thing or another,” the ginger said. Harry relaxed at her words.
“He’s in-”
“Multiple books about recent history in the British wizarding community?” Nico noticed that her voice didn’t have a British accent, and he gathered that she was probably from a different country.
“Yes! Dawn, he defeated a guy when he was barely a year old!” Hermione exclaimed, clearly exasperated. Dawn just raised an eyebrow.
“Yes, he defeated a guy. When he was barely a year old. It’s more likely that he doesn’t remember it. Also, his parents died that night. No one wants dead parents!” Dawn reasoned. She turned to Harry. “Sorry about all this. Hermione’s read through all of our material, and she also got a few books for light reading.”
“It’s alright,” Harry said. Dawn turned back to Hermione.
“Let’s continue trying to find Neville’s toad,” she said. Hermione sighed, but nodded. The girls walked away, talking about something, and leaving the boys to their own devices.
“That was interesting,” Nico commented.
“She was right, though. The Dawn girl. I don’t remember what happened that night at all,” Harry said.
“It’s basic logic. No one remembers what happened when they were a baby. You’d have to hear stories about what happened to get a good idea of any of it,” Draco told the group. He pulled his legs up so that he was sitting cross-legged on the seat next to Harry, who was looking dejected.
“Is something wrong?” Nico asked.
“I wish my parents didn’t die,” Harry replied mournfully. Ron and Draco looked uncomfortable in this situation.
“My sister died last winter. I wish she hadn’t, but I can’t change that, no matter how hard I try.” Nico knew that he should really take his own word for it, but he was slowly moving through the stages of grief. And why, for the love of everything good, did Nico have to say that? There were other ways of comforting a person.
“That sucks,” was all Harry said. Nico stared at the bespectacled boy before laughter began to pour from him. The other three were confused, but soon they were all laughing together.
The rest of the ride passed, and soon they were coming to a stop. The four of them scrambled to get into their robes and joined the throng of students getting off the train. They stepped off into the cool night air, and Nico found himself breathing in relief.
“Firs’ years over here!” A deep voice called out. Nico, Ron, Harry and Draco walked over to the speaker, where other first years were gathered.
The man calling for all of them was larger than normal human beings. Nico was used to seeing people be so tall that it was really, quite frankly, normal for him. Though they were gods, so this was slightly different.
Nico didn’t voice any of this. Instead he followed his friends over to the man.
The man made sure that all of the first years were there before leading them down a long, dark path. Nico could sense the trees on either side of him in the gloom, and he could sense the litter on the ground. He made sure to stumble, trying to blend in the best he could.
The group went round a corner, and immediately there were gasps of pleasant surprise.
The school was a medieval castle, with turrets and towers stretching up into the sky and blocks of light coming from the windows, looking like glittering jewels in the night. It sat above a great black lake, where, on their side, a fleet of wooden boats bobbed in the water, waiting for them to cross. Nico prayed to Poseidon, asking to not be tipped over and drowned, and climbed in a boat with the Dawn girl and two boys that Nico didn’t know. Ron, Harry, and Draco climbed into a boat with Hermione.
They set off across the lake, and every child watched as the castle grew closer. Nico felt a wave of excitement as he watched the glowing windows of the school grow closer and closer. Maybe, just maybe, he could be normal. At any rate, he wasn’t going to be known as the son of the Lord of the Dead.
“Heads down!” The man who had been leading them to the school yelled. Nico had been able to sense the cave anyway, and ducked. They passed through a curtain of ivy and floated through a tunnel and to an underground harbor. Nico clambered out with Dawn and the other two boys and sent a prayer of thanks to Poseidon.
They made their way to a set of double doors, on which the man knocked. The doors opened, and a stern looking woman was revealed.
“The firs’ years, Professor McGonagall,” the man said.
“Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here.” The man, Hagrid, left at her words. Professor McGonagall looked over them all. “Follow me,” she ordered.
She led them through to a chamber across the hall and they filed inside. Nico waited, watching her and waiting for her to say something.
“Welcome to Hogwarts,” she began. “The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly. However, before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you must first be sorted into your houses. They are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, you will sleep in your house dormitory, have classes with your housemates, and spend free time in your house common room. Your triumphs will earn you house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honor. I hope that each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.”
I wonder what house I’ll be in, Nico thought. He decided to not think too much about it.
“The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest that you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting.”
Professor McGonagall left, and the first years broke out into nervous chatter. Dawn, who was next to Nico, turned to him.
“Which house do you think you’ll be sorted into?” She asked. Nico shrugged.
“I honestly don’t know,” he replied, honestly.
“I guess we all don’t know. Mama says that I’m like a Hufflepuff, because I’m loyal to my friends and family, but Ravenclaws are known for enjoying learning new things,” Dawn said.
“So, you think you might be a Ravenclaw?” Nico asked. Dawn shrugged.
“I do enjoy learning. And I know quite a bit about medicine, but maybe I am a Hufflepuff?”
There was a sudden gasp from the first years, and Dawn pointed.
“Look!” She said, a hint of awe in her voice.
Nico turned around to see what she was pointing at, and saw that a whole group of ghosts had floated through one of the walls. They were arguing about someone named Peeves, which Nico figured he would learn more about later.
One of the ghosts noticed the group of first years, and most of them looked shocked at seeing Nico. He sent a silent command to them: don’t say anything about how I am the ghost king, treat me how you would any other student.
The ghosts obeyed, welcoming the first years to Hogwarts, and one of them said that they hoped to see the students in Hufflepuff.
Professor McGonagall arrived shortly after and led them through to the Great Hall.
And it was one of the most beautiful places Nico had been to.
Candles floated above each of the tables, spreading an orange light over the tables and the students. Each of the tables was covered with a long table cloth in the colors for each house. Blue and bronze for Ravenclaw, red and gold for Gryffindor, green and silver for Slytherin, and yellow and black for Hufflepuff.
The ceiling, when Nico looked up to see it, was practically non-existent. The night sky seemingly replaced it, stars littering the ceiling. Nico saw, with a small pang of sadness, the newest constellation; The Huntress. Her constellation reminded him of his very little time with his sister and that he would soon outlive her.
Nico looked down and saw the staff table, which faced all four of the house tables. The teachers were all sitting there, and in the middle was a man with a long white beard and half-moon glasses. Nico guessed that he was the headmaster.
It was up to the staff teacher that the first years were led to, and Professor McGonagall placed a stool in front of the staff table and placed a tattered hat onto it. The hall went silent, and the first years stared at it.
A rip near the brim of the hat twitched, and the hat burst out into song:
Oh, you may not think I’m pretty,
But don’t judge me on what you see,
I’ll eat myself if you can find
A smarter hat than me.
You can keep your bowlers black,
Your top hats sleek and tall,
For I’m the Hogwarts Sorting Hat
And I can cap them all.
There’s nothing hidden in your your head
The Sorting Hat can’t see,
So try me on and I will tell you
Where you ought to be.
You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart;
You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true
And unafraid of turmoil:
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
If you’ve a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind:
Or perhaps in Slytherin
You’ll make your real friends,
Those cunning folk use any means
To achieve their ends.
So put me on! Don’t be afraid!
And don’t get in a flap!
You’re safe in my hands (though I have none)
For I’m a Thinking Cap!
The silence in the Great Hall disappeared as the hat finished, and even the first years clapped. Nico wasn’t too surprised that the hat could sing. After all, Percy’s sword was a pen most of the time to disguise it from mortals and to make it easier to carry around. Hell, Nico had seen the last Hundred-Handed One that very summer. Very little could surprise a Demigod.
Professor McGonagall was standing by the stool with a roll of parchment.
“When I call your name, you are to come up and try on the Sorting Hat,” she told the first years. “Abbott, Hannah!”
A pink-faced girl with pigtails moved out of the line and put the hat on, sitting on the stool. The hat fell past her eyes.
“HUFFLEPUFF!” The hat shouted. The table that had the black and yellow tablecloth burst into applause as Hannah Abbott took the hat off and ran off to join them.
“Bones, Susan!”
“HUFFLEPUFF!” The hat shouted again. Susan Bones ran off to join Hannah at the Hufflepuff table.
“Boot, Terry!”
“RAVENCLAW!”
‘Brocklehurst, Mandy’ became a Ravenclaw, and ‘Brown, Lavender’ became the first new Gryffindor. The entire red and gold table burst into loud applause. ‘Bulstrode, Millicent’ became a Slytherin and joined the green and silver table. ‘Barlow, Lewis’ also became a Slytherin, and he walked confidently over to the Slytherin table.
“Di Angelo, Nico,” Professor McGonagall called out. Nico stepped out of line and put the hat on, sitting on the stool as he did so. The hat fell over his eyes, and the Great Hall disappeared.
‘Hmm,’ a voice in his ears said. Nico felt his breath hitch. ‘A Son of Hades, eh? Haven’t seen one of you in about thirty years.’ Nico realized that the voice was the hat talking to him. He relaxed a bit.
Please just sort me, Nico thought.
‘Alright, then. Very cunning, brave too. Quite smart… oh, very loyal, eh? Quite friendly, too. Better be… HUFFLEPUFF!” The hat shouted to the hall. Nico pulled the hat off and walked over to the Hufflepuff table, opting to sit next to a brown-haired boy who looked friendly without being overbearing with it.
“I’m Cedric Digory. Welcome to Hufflepuff,” he introduced himself.
“Thanks,” Nico replied. He turned his attention to the front.
The Sorting went on, and slowly the line went down. Draco walked forward when his name was called and sat on the stool, Sorting Hat covering his eyes. Eventually it called out “Slytherin!” and Draco went to join the Slytherins..
“Potter, Harry!” Professor McGonagall called out. The entire hall started to whisper, wondering if he was the Harry Potter. Nico just looked forwards, ignoring the whispering.
Harry put the hat on, and the hall went silent, waiting to see which house he would be sorted into. A minute passed and then…
“GRYFFINDOR!”
Harry walked over to the Gryffindor table, and Nico thought that Harry wasn’t even hearing the loud applause that he was receiving. He shook Percy’s hand and sat down, all while Fred and George shouted “WE GOT POTTER! WE GOT POTTER!”
The sorting continued soon after that, and Dawn was sorted into Hufflepuff. She sat next to Nico, smiling in that weird way one would to a stranger on the sidewalk when Cedric introduced himself to her and welcomed her to Hufflepuff, and their attention was soon back on the front.
Ron became a Gryffindor, and after that there were just a few people left. They were quickly sorted, and the headmaster, Professor Dumbledore, stood up. The hall went silent.
“Welcome!” He said, his voice carrying in the silence. “Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!”
Professor Dumbledore sat down, and the students clapped, a few of them laughing.
“Is he mad?” Dawn asked Cedric. He just shrugged.
“A bit, but he’s still a genius,” he replied.
Food appeared on the table, and Nico happily piled some of it onto his plate. Dawn was much more picky, choosing only chicken and potatoes to eat. However, she managed to wolf it down and helped herself to more potatoes and chicken. Nico scoffed his own food, happy to just be there.
The first course disappeared and was replaced by dessert, which Nico also scoffed. Dawn ate mostly ice cream, but that was understandable. Ice cream was good.
The dessert was cleared away, and Dumbledore stood up once again. He gave the students what were apparently the usual start-of-term notices. Don’t go into the Forbidden Forest, don’t use magic in the hallways. That sort of stuff.
“And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death,” Dumbledore said. Some of the students laughed, but Dawn turned around to face Cedric.
“He’s joking, right? He has to be joking,” she whispered hurriedly.
“I don’t think he is,” Cedric replied, his eyebrows furrowed.
“I think it’s best we heed his warning,” Nico said.
“Yeah, it probably is,” Cedric agreed.
Dumbledore dismissed them to bed, and Nico and Dawn followed two Prefects to the Hufflepuff common room.
“Boys, our dormitories are over here,” the boy, Jack Whitlock, said, leading the boys to their dormitory. Nico went with them, and entered the room with the other boys. He grabbed a change of clothes from his trunk and went to the bathroom to change. He didn’t need the boys seeing his scars.
He went back to his bed and fell into it, crawling under the blankets, and let himself fall asleep.