Nico Di Angelo at Hogwarts

Chapter 26

Emma sprinted into Tom's open arms, relieved that he was alright. Frank had run to Hazel with a bag of Ambrosia while chewing a piece himself. Jason made his way to Piper, who was helping some Apollo kids. Percy and Annabeth stood at the doors to the castle, wrapped in thick blankets and free of their armor. A steaming cup of Nectar was in their hands, complete with marshmallows and Percy's had whipped cream and was dyed blue.

Will walked around the courtyard, earning claps on the back and nods of gratitude. He scanned the side entrances, searching for his boyfriend. A very distressed Bubbles scampered towards him, before biting on his pant leg and tugging it in the direction she had come from. Will followed without protest, allowing Bubbles to stop dragging Will and lead him to their destination. A solid sphere of Bones still closed over a corner, not enough room of even an arrow. Bubbles, being a skeleton, could melt right into the wall and not have any difficulty. She did so, before her head re appeared outside, meowing in urgency. Will tried to push past the barrier, but it was solid.

"Nico? Nico it's Will, the fight is over, it's okay!" Will called in, knowing that the array of organic matter would muffle his voice.

"No, it's not! It never will be, Will. Not for me." His voice was scratchy, his breaths labored as the enclosed boy stifled sobs.

"Hey, hey. Sunshine listen to me, please."

"Why? So you can tell me everything will be okay? So you can tell me the conflict is over? So you can tell me I can be happy?" Nico's words made Will's heart drop. The encounter with Nyx had taken more of a toll on Nico than he had first thought. Bubbles danced around Will in a frenzy before running back into the cocoon. When the cat returned, the bottoms of her paws were painted red, leaving scarlet stains on the ground below them. Will'a eyes widened, knowing why the blood was there.

"HAZEL! HAZEL I NEED YOU NOW!" Will shrieked, backing away. The daughter of Pluto arrived in a hurry, followed closely by Frank. 

"We need to get him out of there, now." The two didn't even question why, and got to work. Frank tried shifting into different animals to break through to the child of Hades. Hazel tried summoning any type of gem she could, trying to do something, anything, to help him. Percy and Annabeth were at the front of the crowd that had gathered. Some were confused, others concerned.

"Wait!" Annabeth called out, causing the three to hesitate in their attempts. "It's a wall of death!" Will's eyes widened. 

"You need someone who's dead."

"Please tell me I can find someone who can summon a Ghost!" Will called out to the crowd. A spirit drifted to him. 

"Hello again, William." Helena Ravenclaw greeted. 

"I cannot summon another ghost, but I may find one. What is their name?" Her head was tilted to the side. 

"Maria Di Angelo! Please hurry!" 

The ghost disappeared, and for a few tense minutes, nothing happened. Just when Will was about to give up hope and try to break through the bones again, she returned. Maria Di Angelo was at her side.  Her features matched Nico's almost perfectly, they had the same nose and curious glint in their eye. Will made a short bow.

"Maria, Nico needs your help." He said quickly.

"Nico? My son Nico?" Her Italian accent was much thicker than Nico's. "Why would he need my help?"

"None of us can get to him, and if we don't soon," Will took a deep breath and stepped forward, coming close to the spirit. 

"He may kill himself." Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped.