Death At Hogwarts

Chapter 1

I'm only going to say this once! I do not own Percy Jackson or Harry Potter!!! Thank you. Everything belongs to Rick Riordan and J.K. Rowling except my amazing mash-up of their universes. 

Nico moaned in his sleep and rolled over. The screaming started and his eyes shot open. He was surprised when the screaming stopped immediately, before realizing that it was his. Again.

Everyone at Camp thought that he was alright, just his moody self. But Nico still hadn't gotten over Tartarus yet. That wasn't something you just forgot overnight. Sure, Annabeth and Percy might be fine now, but they had gone through a watered-down version together. Nico had gone voluntarily into literal Hell, and had come back both more and less of the person he once was.

He was tired of questing. Tired of doing the gods' bidding whenever they decided to call on heroes. They should solve their own damn problems for once, rather than make demigods do it for them.

But golden Percy Jackson hadn't asked them of that at the end of the Titan war. No, he had to be the hero and make the gods swear to claim their children before age thirteen. Like that was going to affect their personal lives.

Nico's personality had changed as well. He was more mature, more serious. He acted like an adult, rather than a bratty teenager like most of the Seven. Hazel was like him, but less intense.

Rather than shunning his identity of Ghost King, he embraced it. He didn't care if he was the outcast anymore. He just did his job, rounding up souls that had tried to escape. He hardly ever talked anymore, and when he did it was to the dead.

But Nico didn't care anymore. Afterall, their opinions didn't affect him, so why should he bother making an impression? All he did was go on missions for his dad. Which were quite often. But it made him not be bored, so he guessed that he could accept that.

They had bonded recently and had a more father-son relationship now. It helped that Nico was willing to listen to him and not do his own thing, like a certain son of Poseidon. They had devised a call system, where the skull ring on Nico's finger would turn black when his father needed him. Like it did now.

Nico only had to glance down to double check before he was slipping into the shadows. He was somewhere in Los Angeles, so he wasn't very far from the Underworld.

His shadow travel had gotten a lot stronger, and he hardly ever felt the effects now. When he did though, it was the full 48 unconscious hours. He could also raise a lot more skeletons at a time, although he didn't use that power very much. Basically, ever since coming into contact with the darkness and evil of Tartarus, his powers had gotten a whole lot stronger.

Nico appeared in Hades' throne room. The god was still a little miffed after all these centuries of not getting a throne on Mount Olympus, so his palace in the Underworld was basically a carbon copy, just with a whole lot more black.

Immediately, Nico bowed to his father. You always wanted to show respect to the gods, even if they were your parents. Especially if they were your parents.

From the second throne in the room came a little sniff. Persephone was sitting there, looking like she wanted to go to her garden to grow things. Nico never understood how she survived here, even if it was only for a couple months. The goddess of spring and flowers living in the Underworld? Please. Something was definitely about to go wrong.

"You called me, father?" Nico prompted.

"Yes. Persephone, would you be a darling and..." Hades didn't have to finish his sentence. The goddess got the message, and happily followed it, leaving the room with a little spring in her step.

"I have called you here because there is a mortal, Tom Riddle, who has cheated death one to many times. He has disgraced both me and Thanatos, calling his followers Death Eaters!! He deserves the deepest pit of the Fields of Punishment and..." This continued on for several minutes. It wasn't a first for Nico. His father liked to rant at least twice a week about Tom Riddle, who had created seven Horcruxes. It was almost like Thanatos wanted mortals to be able to cheat death. With Horcruxes and the whole Deathly Hallows event, there were too many loopholes.

Nico refocussed back on the conversation just as Hades was finishing. He could have blamed it on his ADHD, but he knew it was because hearing Hades complain was no fun.

"... so you are going to find him for me!" Hades announced triumphantly.

Nico blinked. "Sorry?"

"You are going to do exactly as I said! You will find this cheater and bring his soul back to me, at any cost!"

"Exactly as we say," a voice from the shadows corrected. Nico whirled around to face another Olympian enter the room. This one wasn't a god though. She was a Titan.

"Lady Hecate." Nico bowed formally. He had heard stories about Hecate from Hazel, and was not eager to be turned into a polecat or a poodle.

"Rise, my hero," Hecate and Hades both said at the same time. They turned to look at each other, probably to start arguing about who Nico was going to follow orders from.

Before they could, he quickly interjected, "What part do you play in this quest, my lady?"

"Tom Riddle is part of a magical society that I once blessed. You know of the four original wizards, yes? Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuf, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. They are all legacies of me, along with several families and muggleborns. Anyways, he claims to be the most powerful wizard in the world."

Nico nodded in understanding. "That was how he could create so many Horcruxes. What do I have to do?"

"There is a school, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You must pose as a student, and protect Harry Potter."

Hades started to say, "And find-"

"Yes, yes," Hecate interrupted. "Harry Potter is the only one who can defeat Tom, so Nico will be listening to your request as he follows my orders."

No one in the room missed the way Hecate called Hades' words a request and hers an order, but Nico didn't bother commenting. Tensions were running high as it was, having to disagreeing deities in the same room. There was no reason to add more fuel to the fire.

Nico nodded at both of them. "I accept the quest. When do I start?"

"Now. If you wear this necklace, I will be able to access your thoughts to answer any questions you may have. Do not lose it." The piece of jewelry in question was thrown at the demigod. Lucky for Nico, he had fast reflexes and caught it. He slipped it over his head.

"You also might find someone... interesting on your journeys. He has been missing for quite some time..." Hecate trailed off. She obviously was hesitant about revealing too much. If the gods could take the time to make it difficult for them to succeed in quests, they had the time to do it themselves. But Nico understood that for this task, it would require someone less obvious.

He smirked. He could be pretty obvious if he wanted to be.

"You will be placed in 5th year, as you could pass for 15. It is also the year that Harry Potter is in." Nico scowled at the reminder. He was almost 18, but was still on the small side. He had filled out though, muscle all across his body. And his eyes held wisdom beyond their years.

"Term begins in a week. Good luck!" Hecate grinned, looking a little childish before Nico vanished, unwillingly shadow travelling. It was a strange experience, not being in charge of where he was going to end up. It was a surprise for both him and the residences of 12 Grimmauld Place when he arrived.