THE EXCHANGE - Nico Di Angelo at Hogwarts

Nine ; Reyna's Letter

Authors note: If you haven't read my announcement, my right arm is broken and I'm writing this with my non-dominant hand. Updating should be slow, but I'm not abandoning this. I rewatched the movie tonight and it inspired me to post now. Have a lovely day and remember to sign a petition. 

The conversations while walking to the dorms were centred entirely around the tournament.

"So, you gonna try for it?" Ron asked him. "You know, if Fred and George figure out a way to get past the age limit?"

Nico frowned and shook his head. "I don't think so. I have no idea how it would work, with me being from a different school and everything. Also, I've had enough excitement in my life. It'll be entertaining to watch though."

Ron nodded and continued with his conversation, but he felt Hermione's eyes on him. He raised an eyebrow at her, and she waved it off.

They arrived at a painting of a large woman in a pink silk dress. She opened her mouth and asked for a password- he would have to get used to that- and one of the twins answered with 'Baldersnatch'.

Nico followed Harry, Ron and a collection of other fourth years up the stairs to their rooms. He took in the dorm as he walked. It was warm and homely, with a roaring fire and comfortable looking armchairs. They filed in through the door labelled with their year, and he almost gasped.

Six four-poster beds with deep crimson drapes were sitting against the walls, with trunks at the end. The old him definitely would never shut up about this. Some of the boys were already sitting on their bed or unpacking. He found his own trunk and opened it, finding his pyjamas and drawing the curtains so he could get changed.

He smiled to himself, deciding to let himself have a good nights sleep instead of adventuring. It had been a long day, and he was still getting used to the timezones.

The bed was warm and as he lay there, he thought to himself. Maybe, just maybe, this year wouldn't be too eventful.

-

"Today's not bad... outside all morning," said Ron, who was running his finger down their schedule. "Herbology with the Hufflepuffs and Care of Magical Creatures... damn it, we're still with the Slytherins..."

Harry groaned. "Double divination this afternoon."

"Is that bad?" Nico asked.

"She's totally bonkers," Ron answered, laughing slightly. "It's a complete waste of time."

"She keeps predicting that I'll die. And basically the worst future events for everyone." Harry nodded.

You should have given it up like me, shouldn't you?" said Hermione briskly, buttering herself some toast. "Then you'd be doing something sensible like Arithmancy."

"You're eating again, I notice," said Ron, watching Hermione adding liberal amounts of jam to her toast too.

"I've decided there are better ways of making a stand about elf rights," said Hermione haughtily.

"Yeah... and you were hungry," said Ron, grinning.

There was a sudden rustling coming from above, and Nico looked up. his eyes widened comically, seeing hundreds of owls flying through the air, carrying various sizes of mail.

Not all had a package, and it seemed some came around just to stretch their wings. Sol landed on his shoulder, pecking affectionally at his hair. He swiped her away and noticed another bird swooping down to him.

it was a golden eagle that he recognised from the ones camp Jupiter bred. He smirked slightly as it landed in front of him, ignoring the stares.

"Blimey Nico. An eagle?" Ron laughed, putting his hand out to stroke it and flinching away when it pecked at him.

"My friend's... organisation uses them," Nico replied distractedly, opening the letter and reading Reyna's swoopy handwriting.

Nico,

I hope you arrived safely. I asked Will how we should contact you, and he advised using birds. This was more of a test message to see if this method worked, so I'll be expecting a reply.

Your sister and Frank wish you well, as do all of your friends here in California.

Will told me a little about this kind of magic and I learnt that there is something called a 'howler'. I'll be sure to store that information away for later, so don't do anything stupid. That's a threat Di Angelo.

I also promise to keep this from the coach, at least for now. I'm sure he would thoroughly enjoy being able to yell at you and not even be in the same room. But I'm sure it wouldn't help your situation.

Stay safe and good luck with your classes,

Reyna

He shuddered at the thought of coach Hedge having his hands on a Howler. He remembered Jemma bringing them up one day, when they and Will were testing lunch. They were apparently letters that yelled out what was written, and would spontaneously combust if not opened. 

"Who's it from?" Harry asked.

"Oh, a good friend of mine. She was just seeing if I arrived safely."

Nico pulled a small notebook he kept in his pocket (just in case) and wrote down a quick reply. He attached it to the Eagle and watched it soar away.