Young and Old, Back and Bold

Chapter 17

After Percy made sure Nico wouldn't leave the bathroom, he took off down the hall in what he hoped to be the right direction. His heart raced out of his chest, adrenaline filled his veins. It wasn't right, this couldn't be right. If Nico was feeling what Percy had felt when his own memories had been wiped, he would never forgive who did it to him.

Were those memories with the Weasley's fake? Or did something else unexplainable happen? He couldn't be sure, not when he was the son of a god at a school for witches and wizards.

"ANNABETH!" as soon as he caught sight of those blonde curls he ran a little faster. "Annabeth! Come here!"

She turned from Piper to look at her boyfriend with hope. "Did you talk to him? I saw you two leave... Where is he? What's wrong?"

"We need you." Percy grabbed her hand. "Follow me."

"Is he okay?" Piper asked. "I can update Will..."

"Tell him that he's alive and that Percy and I are talking to him," Annabeth instructed. "Percy, lead me."

"Got it." Piper grabbed a drachma from Annabeth's pocket before running off, leaving Annabeth to follow Percy through the dark hallways of Hogwarts. Hogwarts... It was beautiful, its architecture was magnificent. Even if they got Nico home, she had to spend some time here.

Even if she wasn't a witch.

"This way." Percy got to the bathroom after some weird looks from the students of Hogwarts. Weren't the exchange students supposed to be in class? Probably. Did Percy care? Not really.

"He's in here. The bathroom is empty." Percy opened the door, relaxing when he saw Nico sitting in the same spot. "Nico, we're here. This is my girlfriend, Annabeth. She's the smart one."

Nico looked up at the two demigods, his dark eyes full of the shadows he commanded. "Are you going to explain, now?" His voice had never been darker. "I'm done with this, I'm done. It's ruining my life."

"Yeah, I'll explain." Annabeth kneeled down in front of him. "Can I know everything you know?"

Nico told her what he had just explained to Percy before looking into her eyes. "Now tell me who I was. Tell me what's wrong with me." His voice broke. "Please. I just want to be normal."

Annabeth sat with a pale, shocked expression before she let out a low breath. "You may not believe me... But I will tell you. Maybe then your memories will open up."

"Go for it."

Annabeth looked up at Percy before looking back to Nico. "You said you were taught by Mrs. Weasley... So you probably don't know what Greek gods are-"

"I do." Nico interrupted. "I looked them up with Dominic cause that voice said I was a child of Hades, remember? I looked it up and apparently, he's the Greek god of the Underworld."

"Yeah, that's right." Annabeth bit her lip. "What would you say to him being real? And all the other gods, as well."

Nico looked down at his dirty fingernails. In the moment, he finally realized he had already accepted that to be true. "So I'm a god?"

"Half god." Percy corrected. "Your mother was a mortal."

"Muggle," Annabeth remembered the slang used by the wizards, already having heard it ten times since she had been there. "Your mother wasn't a goddess. She was just a normal human."

"And a witch," Nico mumbled. "I had to have gotten that from somewhere. Where is she? Why'd she give me away?"

Percy and Annabeth shared a look. It was going to be a long day.

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"Hey, you." Dominic stopped the girl before she could get into the Great Hall for lunch. "You're one of the exchange students, right?"

She nodded. "Piper McLean. What do you want?"

"Do you know where they took Nico?" he asked. "He said he'd be here for lunch and he's not."

"...They really aren't back?"

He shook his head, his cheeks slightly more pink than they had been when he first walked up. "Nope. Did they tell you where they were going?"

She shook her head. "I went to talk to my friend back home in America... You know your way around this castle, right?"

He nodded. "Course. I've been going to school here for over a month."

"Then you're taking me around to find them." she grabbed his arm, holding onto his robes. "Lead me. I saw a staircase moving and I'm not messing with that."

He couldn't help but blush worse as he watched her hand. No nail polish, no perfect nails. Her hand was still beautiful. "Y-Yeah, okay. Let's go. I've got a couple of places in mind but the teachers might call me out for missing class."

She smiled, her lips empty of lipstick but still a beautiful color. "Leave that to me."

"What are you going to do?" he asked, starting out of the hall. "They're strict, you know."

"Oh, I know." she kept close to him to avoid the wizards and witches that went by. His arm felt how Jason's used to feel. "Just watch and learn."

"If I get detention, it's your fault," he warned, but his heart wasn't in it. Even the warning of getting in trouble couldn't wipe the smile off his face. "Time to track some troublemakers down."

"You bet."