Nico Di Angelo at Hogwarts (book 1)

Confusion and Friendship

Disclaimer - I do not own Percy Jackson or Harry Potter.

Nico's POV

I was really confused. I had boarded the train this morning, and entered an empty compartment. I was so exhausted from my transportation here, that I had fallen asleep, but... then I wasn't asleep, I was back with Minos. If I really focused I could see wisps of mist clinging to my body, but Minos didn't seem to be able to see it. It was as though my body was made of mist, but apart from that it was as though I had never been on that platform. Minos led me through part of the Labyrinth, just travelling, barely talking, and then I was back on the train, with my head against the window. Perhaps I was just dreaming of being back with Minos. I thought, trying to clear my head. The train was jolting under me, so we must already be heading to Hogwarts. I looked around and my eyes landed on a boy opposite me. He had black hair, green eyes and glasses. He also appeared to have some kind of scar under his fringe. Once again, I was confused. I thought this compartment was empty. I didn't know who he was or what to do. "Um, hi." I said. To the boy's left was a lanky, ginger boy with freckles and a long nose. I turned back to the boy opposite me.

"Hi," he said, matching my tone. "My name is Harry Potter." He looked a little sheepish, as though he was waiting for me to recall that name, and he didn't want me to. I didn't recall it. He looked relieved as I said. "Nico Di Angelo." That's when the ginger boy coughed to remind us of his presence. "I'm Ron, Ron Weasley." He had something on his nose, but I wasn't going to point it out, it was rather amusing. I silently checked my surroundings. There were several sweet wrappers sprawled around the two boys in the compartment, but when I looked closer I realised I didn't recognise any of them. I wasn't too surprised, after all I was born in 1932, so it wasn't like I recognised many sweets nowadays, but these seemed even more unusual. The boy with black hair, Harry, saw me looking and said, "You can have some if you'd like." I gave him a small smile and accepted the 'chocolate frog' he had handed me. He returned my smile before turning back to his pile of sweets, to find something new. I opened the small box and slowly ate the chocolate, giving Harry the card at the bottom. Harry opened a bag of 'Bertie Bott's Every-Flavour Beans'. He offered one to me, but I quickly stopped when the ginger boy, Ron, warned, "You want to be careful with those. When they say every flavour, they mean every flavour - you know, you get all the ordinary ones like chocolate and peppermint and marmalade, but then you can get spinach and liver and tripe. George reckons he had a bogey-flavoured one once." I scrunched up my nose in disgust. Ron picked up a green bean, looking at it carefully before biting into a corner.

"Bleaaargh- see? Sprouts." he said, going a little green. Harry laughed, but all I managed was an almost-smile. We sat eating the Every-Flavour Beans for a while. Harry got toast, coconut, baked bean, strawberry, curry, grass, coffee, sardine and was even brave enough to nibble the end of a funny grey one Ron wouldn't touch, which turned out to be pepper. I got blueberry, green apple, soap, lemon and vomit. The countryside that was flying past our window was now becoming wilder. The neat fields had gone, replaced by woods, twisting rivers and dark green hills. I took to staring out the window while Harry and Ron continued to bond over the sweets. They'd soon learn I wasn't one to trust so easily. I was vaguely aware of a knock on the door of our compartment, but didn't look up until Harry tapped my shoulder. I turned to face him and he looked expectantly at me, and then a round-faced tearful boy who was standing in our compartment. When I just stared blankly, Ron let out an exasperated sigh and said, "This is Neville, he's looking for his toad." I continued to stare, so Ron tried again. "Have you seen it?" I shook my head and Harry tried to console him, "He'll turn up."

"Yes," said the boy miserably. "Well, if you see him..." he trailed off and left our compartment, leaving an awkward silence behind.

"Don't know why he's so bothered," Ron said, breaking the silence. "If I'd brought a toad I'd lose it as quick as I could. Mind you, I brought Scabbers, so I can't talk." Scabbers, who I assumed was Ron's rat, was sitting asleep on his lap. "He might have died and you wouldn't know the difference," he said in disgust, "I tried to turn him yellow yesterday to make him more interesting, but the spell didn't work. I'll show you, look..." I was at a loss to explain why anyone would want a brightly coloured rat, but to each his own, I'm not one to judge. Ron rummaged around in his trunk and pulled out a very battered-looking wand. It was chipped in places and something white was glinting at the end. "Unicorn hair's nearly poking out. Anyway-" He had just raised his wand when the compartment door slid open again. The toadless boy was back, but this time he had a girl with him. She was already wearing her new Hogwarts robes.