The Hogwarts Express pulls into Hogwarts, and the sorting begins.

Chapter Rating: Mature

Content Warning: Self-Harm, Mild Cursing

Word Count: 4917

And all the characters are owned by JK Rowling, or Rick Riordan.

The time on Nico's iPod read 6:15 am. It was still set to the East Coast, meaning that Will would be on his morning jog in the woods. Nico still felt angry at Harry, but his time alone had lessened his temper considerably. Now, all he wanted to do was talk to Will.

Once alone in the train's bathroom, Nico turned the sink as high as it would go. The jet of water created mist in the sink, allowing the window-light to make a rainbow. Nico threw the drachma into the spray, and chanted the incantation. "O Iris, goddess of the Rainbow, please accept my offering. Will Solace at Camp Half-Blood."

The mist shimmered, and, just as Nico expected, Will appeared alone in the woods. He wore a sweaty, orange, Camp Half-Blood t-shirt and basketball shorts. Jogging clothes.

Noticing the Iris message, Will stopped his workout, smiling his radiant smile. "Neeks! I didn't expect to hear from you so soon!"

Nico's heart fluttered at Will's voice. That didn't seem too son-of-Hades-y, so he tried to cover that reaction up with a roll of his eyes. "Don't call me that, Will. And yeah, neither did I, but I got a second on this train, so I figured why not?"

Will's smile widened. "I'm glad. We kind of left on a weird note, right?"

"Yeah. I've never been good with this sort of thing."

"Then I'll walk you through it." Will's sounded so gentle, so loving... beyond words. Nico could only bask in his good fortune. This boy, this amazing, perfect boy, liked him? Romantically? "I like you, Nico. I like you a lot. Do you like me?"

More than I ever thought possible.

"Yeah, Will. I do."

"Then, do you want to go out with me? I mean, I know you're on a quest, but, when you come back, would you like to go on a date?"

"Sounds perfect."

Will let loose an involuntary smile of his own. "And, in the meantime, do you want to try a long-distance thing? No strings attached, of course, and we don't have to, but--"

"Will!" Nico stopped the Solace-ramble before it could start. "I want strings attached. All the strings attached. I want you as my boyfriend, even if we're in different countries right now."

A laugh left Nico's throat when he saw the way Will's face lit up. He looked like a little kid who just found out he'd won a trip to Disney World. "That's-- wow, cool! Yeah, Nico, sure! Of course!"

The whole thing felt so surreal. Two days ago, this kind of reaction from Will existed in the deepest parts of Nico's imagination. The part he never let see the light of day. Now, that same boy acted like he was the most incredible miracle ever created by the gods. He liked him, he really liked him. Will Solace, the golden boy, liked Nico di Angelo, the weird emo kid. In what universe was that possible?

Still, there was one condition. And he had to make sure Will was fine with it. "Will? Can we keep this relationship thing between us, at least for now? I don't want to advertise things yet--you know how camp gets with couples. All those rumors, all that attention... I've never been in a relationship before, you know? I don't want anyone to ruin it with all that. I'm not saying we have to keep this a secret forever, but is for now all right?"

Nico didn't want to meet Will's eye. It felt like he was saying he felt ashamed of Will, which he wasn't. At all. He just needed to make sure the relationship was enough to make everyone's gossip worth it. That it would last long enough, that it wouldn't backfire, that it would add to his happiness instead of detracting from it. But, he wasn't the best with words, he didn't know how to get all those confusing emotions across.

Will thought the request over for a minute. His face gave no insight into his thoughts. "I understand. My first girlfriend and I ended up breaking up over stupid rumors a month after we got together. I mean, it was the eighth grade, so I'm not sure if that counts but... the point is, I get it. Not a problem. Anything for you." Nico's face broke into a smile.

William Adam Solace. Could you be any more perfect?

Will stared openly at Nico, complete with a teasing smile and bit lip. "It's cute, seeing you smile like that. Your eyes light up and stuff."

"My eyes do not light up."

"Yes, they do. Like a Christmas tree. "

"Shut up, Solace." They both laughed, adding to Nico's elation.

"We've been talking for almost ten minutes, Nico. Don't you need to get back to Hecate land?"

Nico sighed, he knew Will was right. "Yeah. Knowing Percy, he'd think a drakon found its way into the bathroom. I'll talk to you soon, Will."

"See you, Nico." Nico turned off the sink water, and the connection broke. He took a moment to compose himself, so he wouldn't go in public with the idiotic grin he saw in the mirror.

When he got back to his compartment, sticky, foul-smelling sap covered every seat, object, and person. Percy, Annabeth, Harry, Ginny, Neville, and Luna all looked like chemists after an experiment gone wrong. Nico stared at them in shock. "I swear I was gone ten minutes, max. What in Hades' name happened?"

"Well," Percy started, "Neville has an exploding plant, and Harry has a crush on an Asian girl that just popped by. Other than that, nothing much." Neville and Harry both looked embarrassed, which Nico couldn't blame. Though, he was happy karma had caught up with Harry.

Nico took one last look at his surroundings, then shrugged. "Whatever. You guys are all completely insane." He sat back down by the window, half-listening to the conversations around him as he stared at the rolling, green hills racing by.

Ron and Hermione showed up a little later. Like at the station, Hermione pelted him and his friends with questions about their lives in America, but, this time, Annabeth fed her a fake but believable story. According to her, they lived in a boarding school on Long Island, enrolling at age eleven like at Hogwarts. Alongside magical classes, they learned mortal things like math and science. It wasn't entirely untrue, minus the math and science part. Most of the followers of Hecate ate up the story, but Nico could see Harry eyeing Annabeth as she talked.

Can that kid get any more annoying?

The rest of the train ride passed with ease. Everyone (minus Harry) enjoyed the demigods' company, making the atmosphere warm and welcoming. They didn't show Harry's hostility, in fact, they acted slightly surprised at his behavior. They didn't say anything, though, which made Nico think he often got into moods like this.

If that's the case, maybe he should enroll in some anger management classes. He really needs them.

Near the end of the train ride, a blond kid walked into the compartment, two goons at his side. They were so big, stupid, and ugly that they reminded Nico of laestrygonians. The blond kid seemed to hate Harry, which made Nico like him, but then he ruined it by opening his mouth. Nico didn't quite listen to what was going on, but he got the gist of it. Enough to know that the kid was an entitled, stuck-up brat that Nico wanted nothing to do with, anyway. His talk reminded him of all the snobby rich kids at Westover Hall, who teased him and Bianca for being orphans.

The blond boy turned to face the demigods themselves, getting Nico's full attention. "Potter's new lackies?" he asked, voice thick with contempt. "Haven't you read the papers? If you want to survive at this school, you'll want to get as far away from him as possible. I'm Draco Malfoy. I'm warning you, you don't want the company of these mudbloods and blood traitors."

Everyone gasped at the word 'mudblood,' so Nico assumed it was a derogatory term. Percy, thinking along the same lines as Nico, beat him to the retort.

"Not like it matters, with a head so big I'm surprised you even fit into the compartment. You're complete trash, Malfoy."

Malfoy's cold laugh echoed throughout the car. "Clueless and American? This is too easy."

"Stop being a--what would a British person say?" Percy mocked thinking for a moment. "An 'elitist prick'? Yeah, sounds about right. I could wipe that smile off your face in a second, if I wanted to."

Malfoy reached for his wand, no doubt to hex Percy. But, Percy wouldn't be able to fight back with magic, which would raise all sorts of questions. To keep that from happening, Nico gave Malfoy his best death stare to try and scare him off. Considering he was the son of Hades, Nico was pretty good at giving death stares. As he'd hoped, Malfoy's eyes widened in fear, and the coward fled with his laestrygonians behind him.

"That. Was. Amazing," Ron said, awestruck.

"It was all Nico," Percy replied, slapping him on the back. "That death stare could kill anyone." Nico rolled his eyes, but gave a proud smile. He enjoyed the attention for another few seconds, then pulled out his iPod. He felt like listening to some music.

"That's not going to work once we get to Hogwarts," Hermione told him. "Mortal devices get too much interference with all the magic in the air."

"I got one of my friends back home to enchant it. It'll work." He put his earbuds in, cranked up Far Too Young to Die by Panic! at the Disco, and stared out the window again as the others talked around him. Soon the castle came into view, and everyone changed into their Hogwarts robes. Nico hated the idea of wearing a uniform, he never even wore those camp shirts, but he knew that they had to wear the Hogwarts robes in order to blend in. At least these garments were black--Nico recoiled at the idea of putting on any color as bright and clownish as the train's shade of scarlet.

The train pulled to a stop in a little village, Hogsmeade, according to Ginny. Outside the platform, people entered carriages, pulled by skeletal horses.

"Thestrals!" Annabeth cried. "Aren't those creatures of the underworld, Nico? What are they doing here?"

Nico shrugged. "I guess it's like us using pegasi. My father and Hecate created them together, so her followers might have some kind of power over them."

"I can't hear them like I can pegasi," Percy noted.

"Probably because they're not actual horses," Annabeth guessed. "More like winged hellhounds, they just look like horses."

"Whatever." Percy eyed them with intrigue as he climbed into the carriage with his friends.

The ride took only a few minutes. When they reached the castle, a man pulled them aside. His greasy, black hair fell to his pointed chin, with a hooked nose to complete the 'raven' look. "I'm Professor Severus Snape. Your activities director contacted our Headmaster about the... specifics of your time here. I hope they prove fruitful."

He spoke to Nico, no doubt Chiron had mentioned he was leading the quest. "I hope so too, Professor Snape, sir." Nio thought it best to be polite. That man didn't look easygoing, to say the least.

"You three will be sorted with the first years," Snape continued. "And, the Headmaster wishes to speak with you after the feast has ended. Only he and I know about the quest; you are not to tell any other soul about it in Hogwarts under any circumstances. No teacher, student, magical object or anyone--or thing--are exempt from this. Now, I must return to the Great Hall." He turned with a slight swish of his cloak, leaving the demigods alone in the hall. They made their way towards the first years, who were chatting nervously in front of a stern-looking female professor.

Finally, the doors in front of them opened, and the Great Hall came into view. It was incredible, ten times bigger than the dining pavilion at Camp Half-Blood. The ceiling was the same color as the sky, and stars were starting to appear as the sun set. The ceiling had to have some sort of enchantment to contain that kind of realism. Four long tables with hundreds of students filled the hall, with a teachers' table in the front. It was a beautiful and inspiring sight, and this was coming from Nico di Angelo. Annabeth gasped behind him, looking around the room, marveling at the structures and architecture. It must've been heaven for her.

As they stared at their surroundings, the female professor placed a stool in front of them. On top of the stool sat an old, tattered, brown hat. Everyone in the hall stared at the hat, waiting for... something. Then, a rip on the hat's front opened like a mouth, and it started to sing.

Throughout the entire song, one thought ran through Nico's mind:

The fuck...?

He and Percy exchanged looks; Percy seemed just as confused as Nico. Annabeth, however, watched the hat with puzzled interest, like an especially odd children's cartoon. The entire thing seemed so absurd to Nico, to the point where he couldn't even comprehend the words of the hat's song. He cracked a smile at Percy, his head tilted towards Annabeth. "Only a child of Athena, right?"

Percy suppressed a smile. "Imagine if Mr. D greeted us with a song on the first day of summer." Nico had to put his hand over his mouth to keep from laughing at that image.

Annabeth glared at them, whispering, "Would you two shut up? You're worse than children of Aphrodite!" They both gave her a silent apology, and focused back on the hat, who'd finished the song.

The female professor from before stood at the front of the Great Hall with a piece of paper--no, parchment, for some reason--in her hand. "We will have three American exchange students with us at Hogwarts for the duration of the year: Annabeth Chase, seventh year, Nico di Angelo, fifth year, and Percy Jackson, seventh year. Their sorting will take place with the first years. Abercrombie, Euan!"

"Abercrombie? Isn't that, like, a clothing store?" Percy asked. Annabeth shushed him again.

Nico watched as the young boy got on the stool, terrified. The hat sat on his head for a minute, before it declared, "GRYFFINDOR!" The scarlet and gold table clapped as Euan moved towards it, his terror replaced with a nervous smile.

Name after name found itself sorted, each eleven-year-old with various degrees of fear or excitement when in the spotlight. After Irish Carver joined the yellow and black Hufflepuffs, McGonagall called, "Chase, Annabeth!"

Annabeth strode to the stool and sat, hat placed on her head. The second the brim made contact with the top of her head, the hat shouted, "RAVENCLAW!" The blue and bronze table clapped as Annabeth moved towards it. She smiled reassuringly at Percy and Nico, then sat next to an Asian girl and her curly-haired friend, who'd moved over to give her a spot on the bench.

Unfortunately, Annabeth was the last 'C' name. "Di Angelo, Nico!"

Nico made his way to the stool, trying not to act as awkward as he felt. The hat made contact with his head, and spoke in his mind. "Let's see, you're quite a tough one. Brave, but also cunning and strong. Misunderstood and feared by many, yes?"

Nico didn't like this hat invading his brain, even if it was, well, a hat.

Just stay away from my memories.

"Memories? I'll need to look there for a challenge such as you, it won't take a moment."

"Bianca gave herself up to save the rest of us."

"Why didn't you answer me sooner? I've been trying for months!"

"I was hoping you would give up."

"Percy, I told you I was sorry. Please... let me come with you. I want to fight."

"You'll be more help down here."

"You mean you don't trust me anymore."

"If we free Thanatos, I may never see you again. Thanatos will send me back to the Underworld..."

"I wanted to give you a chance at Elysium. That was the best I could do for you. But now I wish there was another way. I don't want to lose my sister."

"They pulled me into the pit, Percy. The things I saw down there..."

"I-- I wasn't in love with Annabeth."

'You were jealous of her. That's why you didn't want to be around her. Especially why you didn't want to be around... him. It makes total sense."

"I hated myself. I hated Percy Jackson. I had a crush on Percy. That's the truth. That's the big secret."

"You aren't worthy of this."

"Stop!"

"You took an oath to the legion. You broke its rules. You inflicted pain. You killed your own centurion."

"I-- I didn't! I--"

"You should've died for your crimes. That was the punishment. Instead you got exile. You should have stayed away. Your father Orcus may not approve of broken oaths. But my father Hades really doesn't approve of those who escape punishment."

"Please!"

"You're already dead. You're a ghost with no tongue, no memory. You won't be sharing any secrets."

"No! No, I am Bryce Lawrence! I'm alive!"

"Who are you? Begone!"

The hat let loose a satanic scream, audible to everyone watching. Nico winced at the noise, fighting down an onslaught of tears. His head and heart both pounded with the weight of what he'd seen, he felt the need for pain again.

Hurry up, you stupid hat! Let me go!

"I see it clearly now. Better be SLYTHERIN!"

The hat said the last word out loud, finally releasing Nico from its grasp. He sprinted from the Great Hall, and into the corridor where his stuff sat. The sound of footsteps followed his escape; Nico turned to find Annabeth running towards him.

Despite Nico's silent pleas, the daughter of Athena didn't turn around and leave. "Percy's stuck in the hall. What happened? Why'd the hat scream like that? Are you ok?"

"Go away, Annabeth. I just need to be alone right now, ok?"

"What happened?"

"Go away!" Nico's eyes flashed with animalistic rage. "You're pretty fucking smart, you know I'm not going to talk to you! So why fucking bother?!"

Annabeth regarded him with her stormy grey eyes. "I wish you wouldn't put up walls, Nico. I'm your friend."

"Go AWAY!" He scoured for his bag, the need to cut overwhelming. Annabeth finally got the message; Nico sensed that she was out of sight. He'd have to do damage control later, but that was hardly a priority now.

His duffel was propped up against a wall, shut tight. Fingers fumbling with the zipper, Nico threw it open, groped for the towel, and yanked it out. He bolted down the hallway, away from the noise of the Great Hall, racing until he located an empty classroom. He grabbed at the knob, and, finding it unlocked, dashed inside. Away from the sight of any passersby, Nico began his robotic ritual.

The second the cold blade touched his skin, the incapacitating trauma faded into a dull, manageable throb. He let himself bleed for a little while, watching through his blissful haze as the towel caught droplets of blood. After patching himself up with the ambrosia, Nico let out a little sigh; all the horrifying memories were gone. He could face the world again.

Nico entered the Great Hall, after replacing his towel in his duffel. Whispering voices greeted his arrival, no doubt speculating what had just happened.