THE EXCHANGE - Nico Di Angelo at Hogwarts

Prologue

Chiron was exhausted. It was hard enough caring for a large group of teenagers, but add in swords, magic fire and an impressive array of pranks and it was enough to make a grown man tremble in anxiety.

Thankfully, he was not a regular man. He was a centaur, son of Kronos and thousands of years old. He had seen many strange things during his time as the director of a camp for children of the gods. He had seen many worlds overlap, recently the Romans and the Greeks.

Sometimes, a child would stumble into his camp, not a Roman or a Greek or any other mythology he had seen. They would show displays of magic, the kind that wasn't associated with gods.

The first time it had happened, he was completely at a loss. The child ended up staying with the Hecate cabin, living their life being unclaimed and having an early death. Over the years, some of them disappeared while others lived like other demigods at the camp. Every couple hundred years, when the Greek influence changed, Chiron and his camp would move.

In one of those countries, he met a woman who explained the world of witches and wizards to him. About the society they had built and about the magical gene that was passed through the generations. That woman was Helga Hufflepuff.

After that fateful meeting, Chiron sent these children to the schools that taught this magic. Now that the camp was in America, Ilvermorny was the closest choice. He had never been, but the campers he had guided there had told him it was beautiful, the view from the mountain it stood on was truly a sight to behold.

One day, on one of the times that he went out to help the satyrs bring a Half-Blood to the camp, he had met a curious young man. He had been travelling the globe, looking for other Wizards and learning of their culture. Chiron and this young man had a heart to heart and became great friends. They travelled to see each other many times throughout the years, and kept in contact. That young man's name was Albus Dumbledore. And unfortunately, he brought trouble wherever he went.

That was why a new wave of weariness overcame Chiron when he opened the letter from him. It held the regular pleasantries, telling the centaur of the weather in England where he was staying for the school break and a particularly lovely sweater he had bought. But it also included a plea for his help.

The child who had survived an attack from the Wizarding world's darkest foe, and was also the reason why the enemy in question was gone, was at Hogwarts. Albus discussed in his letter that he felt a sense of dread about the next year, and believed that Harry Potter, the boy who lived, might need a bit of extra help. He explained that he would have one camper come to learn at his magic school for a year, helping Harry and his friends stay safe.

He wrote that he could not trust many people right now, and trusted his old friend's judgement. He wanted a child who could keep on top of classwork as well as execute a secret plan. He stated that Chiron didn't have to help him but he was desperate. he also thought that this was a plan that would benefit all parties.

An exchange. Chiron racked his brains for a candidate for this precise mission. He wanted to send a camper who had never been on a quest, but he knew that this would be too difficult for them. Plus, there was more on the line. It would be a better idea to send someone a little more experienced.

He didn't want to send any of the seven. He knew they deserved their rest. It had only been a couple of months since the giant war and they were finally getting a break. He knew who would be perfect for the job, someone who had done the same kind of thing before and pulled it off.

Nico Di Angelo.

He also had always had a suspicion that the boy had the magical gene. All demigods could do magic to an extent, but Nico had shown the signs from the moment he arrived in the camp. He had done peculiar things; gotten places he couldn't have during capture the flag, made swords fall from shelves when he wasn't even close.

It could be passed off as his abilities from his father, Hades. But Chiron suspected that the combination of the untapped magic and his powers were what made him so truly powerful. And his suspicions were so rarely incorrect.

He really wished that it wasn't Nico however. He was finally enjoying his life, spending time with the head of the Apollo cabin, Will Solace. He had started smiling often, growing into his features and gaining weight to make him a truly good looking boy. Their relationship was slow and shaky, but powerful.

He came to a conclusion. He would ask the child of Hades, explaining the quest and making it optional. Chiron could always send someone see, or completely deny Albus's request. But he suspected this could only be completed by Nico.