When Nicos not at camp (Book the second)

Nico

I sit on my bed And read my meditation book. Stupid fucking Will Solace. I think to myself. This is such a stupid idea. hes such a fucking dork. at this point my annoying inner Nico decides to chime in and ask, rather unhelpfully, If you really believe that then why are doing what he suggested? and to that part of myself i say Shut the fuck up and go back to quietly resenting everything and everyone for reasons you know deep down are probably unfair but are easier to cope with than your own insecurities. Or something along those lines. I closes my eyes and breath in deeply, then out slowly. i try to identify my bigest distraction and focus on that to the exclusion of all others. but there are just too many to choose from. A loud "Meow" rouses me from my meditation. I see Ajax sitting on the edge of my bed looking exasperated. I sigh. "You're right. this is hopeless."

I scoop ajax into my arms and step out of bed. i walk over to my trunk and swing it open.Its full to the brim with half finished paperwork. I sigh. "I really need a secretary." "Meow." Ajax responds disinterestedly. I manage to fish out and put on my signature jeans, black tshirt and aviator jacket. Saturday means street clothes. then i open my bottle of pills and pop one in my mouth swallowing hard. a chill runs down my spine and i feel my muscles relax. i exhale deeply as a knot of tension i hadnt realised i had starts to melt away. Ill have to make sure to thank Will for these i think to myself. I Grab a handful of paperwork and head down to the common room to work on it untill Harry, Ron, and Hermione wake up so we can all go down to breakfast. Unfortunately because i have absolutely no organizational skills of any kind whatsoever i grabed pieces of about fifteen different unrelated documents and not a complete set of any of them. it takes me the better part of an hour to sort out what ive got, and another hour to find the rest of the pages i need.
By then the rest of the Gryffindors are up.

Hremione looks down at my stack of papers. "Wow Nico. this looks like quite the project." I frown at her. "Im so behind its not even funny. My Dad has threatened to withhold my allowance if i dont get caught up." Ron flips through the top few pages. "What is all this for?" he asks. "Its for ... my family business." I answer resorting to a partial truth. "I help out my dad with it. Ron frowns, unable to read the ancient greek. "What kind of business is it?" he asks. "Uhm. My extended family runs this massive conglomerate. pretty much everything that goes on in the universe they are involved in in one way or another." Harry shrugs. "Come on Nico, lets get some food." I gather up my papers and follow him out the portrait hole.

if i had done this paperwork in a timely fashion i wouldnt have had to consult my notes so much to remeber the info i neede to fill them out. but nonethe less, by the end of breakfat i had managed to finish the documents i had brought with me. I sigh. "Harry, can i borrow Hedwig to send these out? Its too important and i dont trust any of those school owls with it." Harry blinks in surprise. "Uhm. Yeah, sure. go ahead." Hedwig flutters down from her raffter having somehow discerned that her services were needed. I stuff my papers into a manilla envelope and seal it,then tie a string around it so Hedwig can carry it. after she flies away Harry turns to me. "What do you mean you dont trust the school owls?" "Owls are nosy." I respond. "I dont need them reporting back to annabeth about my work." Theres silence for a few moments so i look up from my food to see the three of them staring at me. "What?" "You think owls are reporting on you to your cousin annabeth?" I shrug. "I know it sounds like something a crazy person would say, but trust me. they can and they will. But not Hedwig. She wouldnt aprove of that kind of gossip." Th trio sits in silence again. "Are you two doing your detentions today?" i ask harry and Ron." "Yeah", Ron replies. "Im cleaning the trophy room and Harry is helping lockhart with his fanmail." "Make sure youre on time for Nicks deathday party. Hes really excited for us to be there." Ron Smirks. "I think mostly you Your Royal spookyness." I chuck a biscuit at Rons face.

as we descend into the dungeons Harry is telling us some stupid story about a weird voice he heard. I keep forgetting that Wizards have much lower standards for Disturbing than Demigods. honestly if i lost my shit every time i heard a voice coming out of a wall I would have an anyeurism within a week. as we aproach the dungeon i snap my fingers. the shadows shimmer and my crown appears on my head. a simple circle of stygion Iron with rubies inlaid. Ron whisles. "Impressive." I shrug. "Might as well make it a little more festive." Hermione crosses her arms and pouts. "But now we all look underdressed by comparison. you should have warned us." I roll my eyes.

As we enter the dungeon the first thing I see is peeves harrasing Moaning Murtle. BUt one death glare from me is enough to nip that in the bud. after that i greet as many of the ghosts as i can and introduce them to Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Finally we make our way over to nearly headless Nick. He looks up and does a double take. "Master Diangelo. You are wearing your crown! You hardly ever wear your crown!" I smile. "Today is a special day Sir Nicholas." Nick Frowns. "Master Di Angelo. I must report to you on the findings of the headless hunt." I hold up a hand. "Not know." I insist. "When can deal with business once your party is over."

The Party was a big success. Im sure the headless hunt would have ruined it if they had been here. not that thats why i had sent them to look for Jason. They were just the largest faction of ghosts readily available with a preexisting organization. As the rest of the ghosts begin filtering out to return to their respective hauntings, I pull Nick aside. "Any sign of Jason?" Nick shakes his head. "Not a trace so far as we can tell. Have you discovered anything?" "Nope. I can tell hes not dead but other than that i havent been able to Scry him, sense him, dream message him, or contact him in any way. all the magic i know, and thats considerably more than your average twelve year old even for either a demigod or a wizard much less both, but anyways everything ive tried just sort of ..." I gesture vaguely. "Fizzles out." Harry, Ron, and Hermione are walking over to us. "Just a second guys." I call. I have to finish up some business with Nick then we can go.

" I turn back to Nick with a stern look on my face. "What arent you telling me Sir Nicholas?" Nick sighs. "I was loath to impart this knowledge upon you." I frown. "What is it Nick?" He sighs. "The doors of death are open, and Thanatose is in chains." I drop my glass and it shatter against the floor. My mouth im sure is hanging open. Harry, Ron And Hermione rush over. "Whats wrong?" Ron asks. I ignore him. "Thats not possible. It simply cant be done." "It shouldnt be possible." Nick agrees. "But the headless hunt has verified it." A truly debilitating combination of emotions wells up inside me. Confusion, anger, fear, and then hope. slowly a new possibility begins to materialise in my mind. I look back to Nick. Hes smilling at me sadly. "I knew you would want to try it. But if you would accept the advice of a humble squires ghost. all of us ghosts refused to accept that all things must come to an end. instead weall clung to things that were already gone. but it is not too late for you. Nothing lasts forever Nico. And i beg you not to fight the inevitable, for that way lies only madness and sorrow." I stare at the ground. "You're Right Sir Nicholas. I know you're right. You're always right. I look up with tears in my eyes. But i cant give up on her. Im just not strong enough. And i call forth the shadows to grab me. and carry me to the gates of cerberus.