Nico, Voldemort's Older Brother: Book One (Rewritten)

Chapter IV: Mind Reading Hat Is Bad At Mind Reading

Nico was in hell.

He had to be.

It was some kind of newfangled torture technique or something because he refused to believe what was happening was reality.

Draco was there, beside him. Except... he was a pineapple chunk.

On fire.

Oh, and Sirius was trying to eat him.

Nope. Definitely not reality.

Nico turned, seeing Severus with Lemon in the distance. "Hey!" As he neared, he realized with abject horror that his cat had turned into an actual lemon. "What's going on?"

Severus shrugged.

Then the Kahoot music began.

"Nico? Niiiiiiicoooooooo." A disembodied voice called his name repeatedly.. "Niiiiiicooooooooooooooooo."

"Have you tried stabbing him? I hear smothering works as well."

Nico jerked awake, ready to summon his sword to fight whoever suggested stabbing him. "Wha—"

"Hello, Sleeping Beauty." Draco smirked down at him, Lemon in his hands. "Ready for school? We're here."

"Oh." Nico subtly moved his hands out of the sword-summoning position. "We're here already?" He sat up, glancing out the window, which was now dark.

Everyone else, like Nico, was dressed in their robes, but also had dress shirts and sweaters. Nico felt underdressed in his t-shirt and jeans.

They filed their way out of the train and into carriages drawn by thestrals, which Nico had thought only resided in the Underworld.

"Awwww!" Nico let Lemon sniff a thestral like she wanted to, then entered the carriage. "I didn't know thestrals were here. I thought they only lived in the Underworld."

Draco shrugged, "They've been here for, like, forever." He fidgeted with his tie, which he had somehow managed to get caught on the button of his sleeve.

"I think one of the founders was a child of Hades," Serena mused, looking at her sister. "Do you remember which one?"

"Um," Selena tapped the side of her cheek with her wand in thought. "I think it was Helga. Maybe. Or was it Rowena? No, definitely Helga."

Nico nodded along, pretending it was common knowledge and he obviously knew what they were talking about. He poked his head out the window and gaped as the large, brightly lit castle came into view. Then he noticed something else. "Wait, we have to cross a lake?!"

Serena smiled. "No, we're fourth years. Only the first years have to cross the lake."

Nico sighed with relief. "Thank the gods." He stared up at the turrets as the carriage slowed to a stop and the students began climbing out. Nico clambered out... then tripped on his robes and toppled to the ground.

Draco burst out laughing. "Ah yes, Nico di Angelo. Ghost King and clumsy wizard."

Nico glared at him and got to his feet, brushing dust off of where he had collided with the ground. "I'm not used to walking in these, give me a break. Also, why do people wear these?" He looked down at his robes. "They're impractical."

Selena shrugged. "The drama, probably. Also, it gets cold."

"But the sleeves are so open!" Nico flapped his sleeves around for emphasis. "You'd get cold anyway if you weren't wearing a sweater or something."