It Looks Like a Lie

I don't want to be a dog

When I was twelve, I learned that Greek gods were real and that I am a child of Apollo. Three years later, the Romans entered the pictured. You could say that I'm used to the unexpected by now, so instead of being surprised that Hecate just revealed the existence of wizards and magic, there's only one thing I can think about. "You want me to go to school?"

"Hogwarts, one of, if not the best, wizarding schools in Europe." she clarifies.

"But why?" I blurt out. What causes the goddess of magic come to a demigod for help?

"Do I need a reason?" Instead of answering, I stare at her. "Fine, I need you to protect someone for me," she admits. "The savior of the wizarding world defeated the one of the greatest enemies their society has ever faced last year,"

"That's a good thing, so why do you need me?" I interrupt.

"However,"Hecate continues like I never spoke in the first place. "unknown to them, the war isn't over. Many paths are converging at Hogwarts, most covered in blood and death." she gestures to the doors and arches surrounding us.

"So basically, you want me to join another war?" I sum up.

"What I want is for you to protect the world I spent the last millennia creating. If that means fighting, then that's exactly what I'm asking of you." Putting it that way doesn't make it sound any better. As if sensing my hesitation, she continues. "Of course I wouldn't ask you to do this alone. Though you can choose anyone to travel with you, I suggest taking Nico di Angelo on this quest. He should be able to help you blend in," The mention of Nico catches my attention.

"Wait, Nico knows about the wizarding world?" It shouldn't have been a surprise after the Ambassador of Pluto debacle, but still, I thought he was done with keeping secrets.

Hecate nods. "Tell him I give him permission to speak freely and he can probably explain everything I missed. So, do you accept?" she doesn't miss a beat.

I don't know what to say. On one hand, the war only ended a couple of months ago and I have patients to help. On the other hand, I'd rather not be turned into a golden retriever for refusing. "Okay, I accept." I decide, hoping I made the right choice.

"Perfect, I'll have everything you'll need ready for you by tomorrow." She claps her hands together and begins to glow. I quickly shut my eyes before her true form can turn me to ash.

After a few seconds, the bight light assaulting my retinas dies down. Deciding that it's safe, I open my eyes and find that the room of doors is gone. "Hey Will, you okay?" One of my younger brother asks." You've been staring into space for a while now."

"Yeah, I'm good, um, could you tell Kayla that I'm at the dining pavilion if she needs anything?" He agrees before running off.

Content that I've done what I came to do and then some, I leave the Apollo cabin. It takes a moment for me to find where Nico is waiting for me. Then I notice a patch of shadows protecting the small Ghost King. His eyes are closed and his lips parted slightly as he leans against a pillar. I would think he's asleep if I didn't know that his nightmares would make it impossible for him to look so peaceful."Come on Sunshine, time to get up." I nudge Nico with my foot despite my instinct to let him rest.

He opens his eyes lazily and looks up at me. "What took you so long Solace?" He's rather coherent which is surprising with how worn out he looks.

"We got a quest." He raises a brow in interest. "I'll explain, but first," I grab his hands making him tense up and pull him to his feet. "breakfast."

Much to Nico's discomfort, I keep a hold of his hand to drag him to the dinning pavilion and through the line. Instead of sitting at the Apollo table like usual, Nico directs me towards the Hades table as soon as he has a black coffee in his hand. I sit across from him and try to keep quite about his lack of real food. Hades knows that if I comment on it he'll skip the next two meals just to spite me. "So, what can you tell me about wizards?" Nico pauses in adding an unhealthy amount of sugar to his drink.

"Nothing, why?" His voice is steely calm, trying to end the discussion before it even starts.

"The quest I mentioned. Hecate wants us to go to a wizarding school to protect them from something and said to ask you any questions I might have." I reassure him. He relaxes slightly.

"Did she say which school?" Nico takes a sip of his coffee before making a face and then adding more sugar.

"Hogwarts I think." I cut off a piece of my waffles and shove it in my mouth to stop myself from forcefully taking the sweetener away from the Son of Hades.

"Hogwash," He comments.

"No, I'm pretty sure it's Hogwarts." Not that the name's much better.

He just shrugs. "Same thing." He steals a strawberry off my plate before continuing. "The school used to be great, one of the best in the world, but their last headmaster was, well, overly eccentric."

"So?" I don't see how that could be a bad thing.

"So, he canceled exams, favored students, hired questionable teachers, and put a lot of his kids in danger. He may have been a great wizard, but not the best person to be in charge of a school." He explained.

"Wait, I'm confused. Start at the beginning."

And so he did. The rest of the day, Nico tagged along with me to my camp activities. During my archery time he explained about Hogwarts and the other schools. At lunch he gave me a brief history lesson on the wizarding world. While he trained with his sword he tried to mention the politics and blood status, but stopped when he realized that I either got really bored or really angry. Why do they care what blood anyone has? Finally, at dinner and during the campfire he revealed everything he knew about the war with Voldemort. Funny enough, I'm sure I've heard the name Harry Potter somewhere before. Oh Well. By the end of it all, Nico looked like a weight has been lifted off him. Just how long has he been keeping this a secret?

By the time I get back to my cabin I have a headache from all the information I tried to consume today. I'm so exhausted by everything that happened today. I'm out moments after my head hits the pillow.

A/N: Hi, thanks for reading and/or commenting. I love getting comments so please tell me if I have any grammar or spelling mistakes. Thanks.

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters etc....