Demigods at Hogwarts 2 (Harry Potter and the Halfblood Prince)

Chapter 18

Harry POV

The next day we all returned to Hogwarts. I loved the Burrow beyond belief, but this was the place where I'd first found home. We walked back to the common room, and saw a poster on the noticeboard about apparition lessons.

"I hope it's better when you apparate on your own, it was awful when Dumbledore apparated with me," I said.

"What's it like," Annabeth asked.

"Being squeezed through a tyre."

"Delightful." She wrinkled up her nose disapprovingly, but signed up like the rest of us.

I had to go off to my meeting with Dumbledore, leaving the others to go check on the labyrinth entrance.

Thalia POV

Back in the freezing castle again. I definitely wasn't coming again next year. It was all right, but I'd only really come back because Artemis told me to. It was getting boring and I was sorely tempted to do a runner. However, the labyrinth had sparked my interest, and I was happy enough to watch it. As soon as we arrived back at the castle and met up with the others, we headed down. Harry couldn't come, and Ron and Hermione were going to unpack, leaving only us demigods.

We made our way down. The sky was beginning to darken, so if we were going to return to the castle we'd want to be back soon.

"How was Camp?" Percy asked Nico.

"It was ok. Not much going on. I told Rachel about the labyrinth and she said she'd tell us if she had any dreams or prophecies that might concern it."

"What about you, Hazel," he asked.

"Everything was in order, and Reyna and Frank are all good. It was nice to hang out with them."

"Thals?"

"Fine," I said.

Percy didn't press. The huntresses were a sore subject here.

We inspected the hole, but nothing had changed since we left. We all breathed a sigh of relief knowing that nothing untoward had happened in our absence. Nico and I decided to stay down here, and the rest made their way back up the castle.

The sun set over the forest, and Nico and I climbed up a tree. We had spent a lot of time last term here, and we were used to the terrain.

"Nothing much is happening, is it really worth watching this?" Nico complained.

"Would you rather be stuck in the castle?"

"I guess not."

Harry POV

I returned from my meeting with Dumbledore, his mission at the forefront of my mind. I had to tell Ron and Hermione, one of them would have an idea.

I climbed in through the portrait hole and spotted Ron, Hermione, and the demigods over by the fireplace. Ron and Hermione were still in an argument, so they sat on opposite sides of the demigods. Hermione already had her books out, even though term hadn't started.

"What did Dumbledore say, Harry?" Hermione asked.

"He was showing me some memories about Voldemort again, and he asked me to get a specific memory from Slughorn, but I have no idea how I'm going to. Dumbledore said Veritaserum and Legilimency wouldn't work. He also mentioned something called a horcrux."

"Those are the two things that I would have suggested to find the memory. I'll look in the library. Also I've never heard of a horcrux," said Hermione.

"I don't know much about magical methods of mindreading, so I'm not that much of a help. Horcruxes sound like something you should ask Nico about," said Annabeth.

The next day we were sitting in potions, and Slughorn instructed us to create an antidote to a potion he gave us.

Annabeth and Percy started to create their potion. They worked perfectly in tandem, Percy giving Annabeth instructions and Annabeth doing them perfectly, asking questions as she went. I had absolutely no idea what to do. I flicked through the book, but there were no instructions for this. What was I going to do?

I had to do something. I couldn't lose Slughorn's favour today, as I needed him in a good mood. Hermione was on my right, her hair a mess and her potion ingredients spread over her desk. If she couldn't do it with the textbook, then I was going to have to follow some alternative instructions.

I flicked through the book and found a note.

Just shove a bezoar down their throats.

Perfect.

I ran over to the potions cupboard and looked through it. We had almost no time left, and I needed to find them.

"Bingo," I whispered, pouring a bezoar out of a jar and running back to my desk.

"Time's...up!" Slughorn yelled.

Hermione poured a last thing in and sat back in her chain. Annabeth and Percy stepped back, their potion a beautiful blue colour.

"Well done," he said to Hermione.

"Excellent," he said to Annabeth and Percy.

"And what do you have here, Harry?"

I held out my bezoar.

Slughorn praised me, talking about my mother and how she was a good potions student. Hermione looked irritated, but didn't say anything.

I hung back after class to ask Slughorn about the memory. I tried to act like Tom Riddle, but he caught on immediately, sending me away.

Hermione was still unable to find out about horcruxes in the library, so I decided to take Annabeth's suggestion up, and go find Nico in the Forbidden Forest.

I walked out of the castle on my own. I'd thrown the invisibility cloak on to avoid interaction with anyone, as it was just too much to deal with on top of my thoughts.

I followed the path through the forest until I emerged into the clearing where Thalia and Nico seemed to live.

"Hello," I said, glancing around the empty clearing.

"Harry," Nico acknowledged, jumping down from a tree.

"I wanted to ask you about something."

"Sure, what is it?"

"Dumbledore mentioned something called horcruxes, and Hermione can't find out what they are in the library. Annabeth suggested that you might know..."

"I do know. It's an interesting area of magical study, definitely in the dark arts, and absolutely not something that one should do, ever."

"Will you tell me?"

Nico seemed to think for a minute, and the forest fell into silence. I didn't want to interrupt his chain of though, lest he say that he would not tell me.

"I'll give you a brief idea, but I won't go into detail. If you need more information later, do ask. Horcruxes are fragments of the soul, split by dark magic. They're used to keep the soul safe, which can stop one from dying. It's an affront to my dad, and one of the reasons I was sent with the others."

The shadows seemed to dance around him as he talked. I hadn't really thought about the fact that Nico was the son of the God of the Underworld in a while. It was always in the back of my mind, but now it was more than obvious.

It seemed as if he was going to say something more, but we were interrupted.

"Nico! Harry. I found something!" Thalia ran out of the trees.