Young and Old, Back and Bold

Chapter 5

Everything in the "textbook" Nico reads is from wiki/Hades because I was too lazy to write it myself

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nico skipped out on dinner to stay in the large library with his nose to the books. Most of them he couldn't read, the English screwed up. Did anyone else have those problems? He couldn't be sure when he even learned to read.

He was just about to give up when he saw a word on the spine of a book, a word he could actually read. Without thinking twice about why the letters were different, why he could read it but not the others, he grabbed it off the shelf and flipped it open.

Gods of Ancient Greece

Zeus (pages 1-3)

Poseidon (pages 4-5)

Hades (page 6)

Athena (pages 7-9)

Aphrodite (pages 10-12)

Hephestus (page 13)

The table of contents continued on from there, but Nico's eyes were on the third entry. Hades... He had been called a child of Hades too many times to count. In his dreams, in real life. The lake...

He flipped to page six. There, a marble headed statue stared back at him.

Hades is the god of the underworld in Ancient Greek religion and myth. He is the eldest son of the Titans Kronos and Rhea and brother to Zeus and Poseidon.

As the lord of the dead, Hades was greatly feared by the Greeks, and he had few temples or shrines dedicated to him. He was married to the goddess Persephone, the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. Hades' symbols were the cornucopia, a scepter, the cypress, narcissus, poplar and his Helm of Darkness; the screech owl was his sacred animal.

Hades' Roman equivalent was Pluto, whose name is merely a Latinization of the Greek Plouton.

Hades...Persephone...Pluto... The names swirled around his brain, seemed to take on a life of their own. With each repeat of them, another image came to mind.

He could see a man stare down at him from a throne, could see a woman watching from the doorway. He could see fields of torture, fields of restless spirits. He could see the way they were nothing more than husks of their former selves.

Then it was gone. He stared at the shelves of books, stared as he tried to process what happened. Why would anyone be calling him a son of a god? A fake one, at that. Was his father simply named after this mythological being?

No. Things didn't work that way. He was sitting in a castle, ready to learn about magic, having witnessed a hat talk. Anything was possible.

You've got a good brain, young demigod.

Nico stood up in a sudden surge of anger, his fists slamming onto the wooden table. "WHO ARE YOU?!"

He didn't get an answer, but he did successfully get kicked out of the library.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nico stalked down the halls of Hogwarts for some time after that, wondering exactly where any of the dormitories were. Why'd they have to be so hidden? It was just a place to sleep, nothing more.

Memories of his childhood came to mind, memories of the shared bed he had slept in for some time. Ron may be annoying as hell, but he did keep the nightmares away most nights. A brother... Had he ever had one before?

Who am I? He looked down the halls in the dim light. Why was I found? Who abandoned me?

Who am I?

As soon as Nico saw the ghost, he ran towards him with a sick feeling in his stomach but a sense of hope. "Sir! Can you tell me how to get to my dormitory, sir?"

The ghost took some time to turn around, his hands clasped together tightly as he looked at the young wizard. "Why...why of course, master. What house are you in?"

Master? "Hufflepuff."

The ghost showed him where to go, what barrel to tap, and the rhythm in which to do it. Within five minutes, Nico was laying on his bed in the unlit room, his arms beneath his head as he stared above him.

Hufflepuff... When had he ever been loyal? He couldn't remember a time.

Who was he? He'd never be sure, not with what he was doing. Hogwarts wouldn't offer him answers, wouldn't offer him his memories. If anything, it would take the only thing he had left.

He knew the Weasley's weren't his family, knew Ron wasn't his brother. But every time they grew further apart, another piece of him broke.

Who am I? He felt a piece of him die. Who am I?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nico woke up the next morning just as moody as the night before. Every breath felt like it shouldn't be, every pump of his heart spread blood to new places. When none of this felt right, it was hard to live right.

On his way to breakfast, he could hear the whispers going about having to do with Harry. Pointing him out, talking behind his back. Nico tried to ignore the kid in question, hating the sickness he felt whenever he got close. Whatever was in that scar of his...it made Nico thankful that he had his own scars and not one like that.

His own scars... How had he never questioned them before? They covered his torso, covered his back. On his biceps, claw marks stood out from the others as an angry shade of red. He had them for as long as he could remember, but they still hadn't fully healed. Even the spells Molly used couldn't satisfy the area.

By the time Nico got to breakfast, he was practically setting off an aura of sadness and melancholy. Those at the Hufflepuff table looked at him as if he didn't belong, some other tables pointed him out just as they did Harry Potter. An odd one, they called him. A freak. He was as un-Weasley-like as they came.

Nico was snapped out of his inner turmoil when a boy next to him scooped a heaping of eggs onto Nico's plate. "There. Eat or something."

Nico turned to face the Hufflepuff, his eyebrow raised at the introduction. The boy was around Nico's age, with blond hair cut short and eyes a deep blue. "Um...who are you?"

"Dominic Cook." Dominic stuck his hand out, which Nico shook reluctantly. "I'm new to the wizarding world. Are you?"

Nico shook his head, his eyes calculating the face in front of him. Why was he talking to him? "No. I grew up with wizards... Why did you give me food?"

"You didn't have any...?" Dominic's confused expression sent Nico's cheeks heating up. "Why else would I?"

"I didn't ask for it, though." Nico reasoned. "I'm not hungry."

"Fine, don't eat." Dominic leaned his head on his hand. "You got a girlfriend?"

"We're eleven."

Dominic shrugged. "I like this girl in Ravenclaw. We rode on the train together. You should help me get with her."

Nico felt his heart drop. "Yeah...okay..." With a clenched fist, he drew blood from his palm. Why did he ever think this kid was gay, just because he looked like Will?

Nico's eyes widened. Will... "I have to go!" Nico grabbed his bag before running from the hall, his heart pounding against his ribcage. Will...Will... Who was Will?

And why did Nico love him so much?