When the demigods finally arrived at last at Hogwarts, Piper shook them awake and they all made their way down. A huge half-giant yelled at first years to get into boats, so the seven of them decided to get onto the boats too. Since their were to be four in a boat, Percy and Annabeth sat with Jason and Piper, so Thalia, Clarisse and Nico entered another boat with a small and friendly girl who instantly introduced herself as a Kathleen Williams. Nearby them, others got into boats too. A tall and beautiful girl who looked somewhat familiar got into a boat with a boy with slicked blonde hair, a red haired girl and a boy with messy and untamed jet-black hair. Nico frowned at the tall and lean girl. She looked more and more familiar as he stared, with her wavy raven-black hair and ice-blue eyes. Her golden skin... It was uncanny, but the memory of where he had seen her remained elusive and evaded him. Deciding at last that he must have seen her at Diagon Alley when he visited the previous day, he sat down and prayed hard that Poseidon would be merciful and not throw him off the boat, along with Jason and Thalia. He noticed that the water was gradually becoming decidedly choppy and made him feel like throwing up. He looked around him. Percy's boat was still and gliding gracefully on the water, and so was the boat beside him, but the water kept trying to throw his boat into the air. As he slowly came closer to the surface, he began to anxiously wish that they would reach the banks of the river. He was feeling extremely nauseous. Thankfully, they reached soon enough. A tall and rather good-looking professor emerged. "Students, form a line together. My names is Professor Longbottom. Follow me," commanded the professor. Nico got into line in front of the tall girl who decided to stand at the back. As he did so, he suddenly felt the overwhelming presence of Thanatos behind him. He turned to face the girl with golden skin. The sense of familiarity overwhelmed him once more. "Have I met you before?" he asked the girl. "What's your name?" she asked. "Nico d'Angelo," Nico replied. The girl shook her head. "Never met a person with your name in my life," she said. "Your name?" requested Nico as he followed Professor Longbottom in. "Aldora Letus," she replied. "Nice to meet you," said Nico awkwardly. He had never been much good at first time introductions. His sister had been better. That thought made his heart pang at the thought of his dead sister. He cringed slightly. "Have you got any siblings?" Aldora asked, looking perfectly at ease. Her glossy and silky black hair flowed down past the extra hood on her Hogwarts robe. Nico forced himself to look her in the eye. "A sister," Nico said, feeling a hollow feeling seep into his heart, hating himself for not being their for Bianca, being unable to save her from Death. He nearly laughed at the irony. He was 'friends' with the god of death, the grim reaper, also called Death, himself, yet he was unable to prevent Bianca's death... "Is she attending Hogwarts?" Aldora asked, her bright and enchanting voice shredding through Nico's self-loathing thoughts. "No, she... She is dead," Nico heard himself say, as though his spirit were not in his body. "Death is always painful to the dead's loved ones," said Aldora, looking slightly pained. Suddenly, Nico felt ice seep into his skin, and felt raw fury and pain overwhelm him, making him lose his sense of reason and logic. "What do you know about death?" he cried, losing his temper. "Quite a bit. My mother's dead," said Aldora replied. "And my mum is dead with my sister too," hissed Nico. A part of him knew he was being irrational and his losing of temper was not going to help. "Look, my father might as well be dead - there is no difference, seeing as he's always travelling around and I rarely get to see him. And why are we comparing deaths in our families anyway?" asked Aldora. Nico paused. Embarrassment overwhelmed him.
"Right, I'm sorry I lost my temper. And sorry about your mum too, of course," Nico said, abashed by his actions. "I'm sorry about your mother and sister too," said Aldora.
"Attention, first years. The sorting will commence shortly. Exchange students please raise your hands," said the cool and strong voice of a familiar male professor, Professor Longbottom. Recalling that Nico and his friends were travelling incognito as exchange students, Nico rose his hand, along with his demigod friends. "You'll be sorted and have lessons with our Hogwarts students too. We hope you'll enjoy your stay here," said Professor Longbottom evenly. He ducked outside and left the students in the room. Students surrounding Nico were beginning to look discomforted and uneasy. Some started to whisper and mutter around him. He wondered why he needed to be sorted, and where he would be sorted to.
"Students, follow me. The sorting is starting now," Professor Longbottom said as he entered the room they were all in currently. The students all followed him out of the room in single file. The sorting was starting.
