Worlds Collide Harm(fully)(lessly)

Chapter 7

Nico tried to lay low, tried to keep out of suspicions, and it was mostly successful. He was a Weasley, after all. A Hufflepuff. Despite his dark appearance and old Heir-of-Slytherin vibes, it seemed that the Hogwarts population didn't mind him much. They didn't speak to him, he didn't speak to them, and the peace was mutual.

Except for the few friends he had and Draco Malfoy.

Lessons ended early the day the other schools would arrive. Nico had spent the whole day listening to the murmers and whispers around him, questions on what demigods were and why they were even coming at all and exactly where they were coming from. But nobody sounded too upset by it, and so far no violence had occured.

But that didn't mean anything.

At six they all gathered outside the castle to greet their guests. Nico stood beside Ron, Harry, and Hermione in the chilly air, his robes wrapped tightly around him as he took in the darkening sky. Was Will coming with the other demigods? And who else could possibly be coming? Percy and Annabeth had their kid to attend to, and so did Hazel and Frank. And Jason...well, he couldn't do anything, anymore.

Beauxbatons was the first to arrive, in a large horse-drawn carriage that could also somehow fly. The headmaster was a woman taller than any Nico had seen before, and he was ninety percent sure she had giant blood in her. It sent his blood running cold, but nothing about her seemed very dangerous. She led her students into the castle to warm up, leaving the Hogwarts students alone again.

"How are the demigods arriving?" Harry whispered.

Nico shrugged. "Dunno."

Was Dominic coming? Would he realize that Nico had that mark? Would the others see him as a traitor once again?

His mind started racing to a proper way to hide the mark from Dominic's sixth sense but time wasn't on his side. The old sight of the Argo II shown in the distance, and even the old smell came back to him. All those years ago...the horrible times he had had on that ship...

"That's them."

Wizards around him had also seemed to realize that this wasn't the other wizarding school. They moved forward, whispers and yells breaking out. These were the mysterious demigods. These were the ones they had never heard of before.

"Maybe this wasn't a good idea," Hermione thought aloud.

"I'm thinking the same," Nico agreed.

The ship landed beside the lake. Nico could see Leo's beaming face at the front, his hair a mess like usual and his overalls dirty. What he didn't expect was Chiron to be pushed from the ship in his wheelchair, Dominic behind him in a bright orange shirt and jean capris.

"This isn't fucking good," Nico groaned. "This isn't fucking good at all."

Hermione put a hand on his arm. "Relax. We don't know that yet."

"People know who Dominic is," Nico said. "They know him. What the fuck is he going to tell them?"

"The truth?" Ron asked.

Nico rolled his eyes. "Like that boy ever tells the truth."

"Chiron!" Dumbledore met Chiron in front of all the onlookers and greeted his old friend. "Thank you for coming."

Nico watched the demigods that got off the ship, felt his mark burning at each one. Annabeth...Will...what were they doing here?

Nico escaped from his friends and pushed his way through the other wizards as the demigods were welcomed into the building. Most wizards stayed behind to wait for the next school, leaving Nico enough room to make it by Will's side. "What are you doing here? What about school?"

Will looked down at Nico with a grin. "What? You aren't happy to see me?"

Nico rolled his eyes. "Of course I am. But if you tell me that you dropped out, I swear to the gods-"

"I didn't drop out, I promise." Will grabbed his hand and intertwined their fingers. "This place is as amazing as I remember... I took a year off of school, that's it. I helped come up with this plan. It was me and Annabeth and Chiron. It's only fitting that we're here to help it through."

"Annabeth has a baby. She shouldn't be-"

Annabeth turned around to slap the back of his head lightly. "I have a baby, you're right. That means I deserve a vacation."

Nico sighed. "Please tell me Percy's not watching her alone."

"You think I'm an idiot?" Annabeth instinctively went to sit at the Ravenclaw table before making her way to the Gryffindor table. "Come on, we're going to sit with your friends. Sally's watching her."

Nico grumbled but sat next to her and Will. The students were still outside, waiting for the other school to arrive. The only other ones in the Great Hall were the Beauxbatons students, leaving the demigods mostly alone as they talked amongst themselves. Nico didn't notice Dominic was around again until the son of Apollo plopped down in the seat across from him. He was just as Nico remembered in his demigod phase, but...that 'fucking psychic' sense...

Dominic's face was serious for once in his life. His eyes were cold and calculating. "What did you do?"