Nico Visits 12 Grimmauld Place

9. ...Until We Meet a Crazy Girl

Hi it's Claire from Oct. 9. 2017. I made this chapter a little more rainbowy. You're welcome.

⋅⊰∙∘☾∘∙⊱⋅

N I C O

With no problem at all, I found the guy who was supposed to be dead snoring away on a sofa. I popped open a window and climbed through.

I was hit in the face with the smell of stale pizza.

The dude was extremely fat.

I stepped over a few hundred cheetos that were scattered around the floor. For some reason there was also a chicken costume in the corner, which I avoided eye contact with.

When I got close enough to the man, I pointed my sword at him. "Be released and rest."

He dissolved.

I sighed. My mission was finally done. See how easy this could have been?

I sheathed my sword and went out to find Percy.

He was right where I left him, scratching Mrs. O'Leary behind the ears while she chewed on someone's mailbox. It was almost dark, so we could shadow travel soon.

I was only like ten metres away when some girl screamed, "ANUBIS!!!"

I spun to see a blond girl with red highlights and combat boots sprinting across someone's lawn, trampling a few innocent flowers.

I had just enough time to think, Oh no, crazy girl coming, before she slammed into me at full speed.

She knocked me into the ground in the biggest hug I've ever had the misfortune to receive.

To be honest, I screamed a little. It's not every day a random girl just tries to squeeze the air out of you.

I pulled free, instantly thinking this girl was some sort of monster.

I drew my sword and heard Percy bolting over with Mrs. O'Leary behind him.

When Crazy Girl saw the sword, Percy, and the giant hellhound the size of a living room, she didn't even react. If anything, she looked disappointed.

Since she didn't attack, I started to wonder whether she was just a mortal, and seeing Mrs. O'Leary as a regular puppy.

Percy hesitated too. He hissed at me worriedly, "Another witch?"

Before I could respond, Crazy Girl looked at me crossly, "What kind of welcome is this?"

I was thinking that this wasn't really a welcome, and that she was the one who gave me one. "Uh..."

"Gosh, and I thought I was the one who couldn't talk in full sentences. Who's your friend there? Why does your giant dog have a mailbox in its mouth?"

"I think you've mistaken me for another person."

She squinted at me. She looked me up and down. She noted my aviator jacket, my face, my sword, Percy, and the hellhound. Once she'd stared at me long enough her cheeks reddened, "Oh, I guess I did. Oopsie daisy."

She took an embarrassed step back, "Er, sorry. I s'pose I'll be off now..."

"Wait," I said. "Can you see the hellhound?"

"If by 'hellhound' you mean your giant dog, then yes, I can see it."

She rolled her eyes at me, "I'm assuming you're from the Ninth Nome for London? Yeah, I'm one too. So no need to wipe my memory. By the way, I don't think people like having their mailboxes turned into chew toys. What are you two doing out here for anyway? And your swords are weird, why are they so straight? I mean, that's not the weird part. They just don't look Egyptian."

My head was spinning from all the questions she was asking. She could see the hellhound. She likes garden gnomes. She thinks my sword isn't cool.

"My sword is straight but I'm gay," I blurted without thinking.

Percy gave me a look, like, seriously? Now we're talking about the possibility of gay swords?

The girl blinked really slowly at me, "That's wonderful, emo boy. Now I know your swords don't reflect your sexuality."

She dropped the subject before I could voice anymore random thoughts. "Honestly, how do you keep a pet like that? My brother has a Griffin, and Freak causes enough trouble, he eats all the turkeys we have! How does your dog go to the bathroom?"

Now she was asking questions I don't want to know the answer of (I preferred talking about being gay), "Um..."

She frowned at us, "You two sure talk a lot."

Percy looked like he was about to ask something educational and helpful. Instead he said, "Mrs. O'Leary has to go to these special houses. She does her business, and her waste gets used for fertilizer."

Crazy Girl turned slightly green, "I didn't need to know that. Why did you tell me that?"

There was really something strange with this girl. Percy scratched his head with the hilt of his sword, "Who are you?"

She looked stunned, "You don't know me? You must live with Patrick Star. Obviously, I'm Sadie Kane."