Wow!! I'm very confused whether or not to start developing a Nico/Hermione ship yet or not! Anyway, here's how it stands.

Nico/Hermione: 9

Solangelo, Romione/Any other ship for Nico and Hermione: 8

Well that's that. Characters and locations belong to Rick Riordan and JK Rowling.

This chapter is once again for Wisdom and Sea: I can not only relate but respect that you stayed up past three reading. And of course InsertTextHere! Here's to reminding me of Sassico!

But seriously, based on the level of Sassico in this chapter, you'll see how sassy I'm known to be...

CHAPTER 8: GOOD-BYE HOGWARTS

...~0~...

"It's about your father." Hermione whispered.

Apparently Nico wasn't leaving as soon as he hoped.

Nico pushed Hermione's hands off his shoulders and made a split second decision on how to react. "W-what do you mean? Do you know where he is? Because I've been very curious since Gringotts and-"

Hermione's gaze softened. "Well, Nico, the Greek gods, you know, Zeus, Hades, Poseidon, right?"

Nico nodded knowingly. How did she figure it out though? No point pretending if she knew...

He sighed. "Yeah, I'm a demigod. Although I haven't been claimed, I think we both know that my father is Hades."

Hermione's eyes widened. "Y-you know?"

Why wasn't she recoiling in fear or hate or disgust? How could she know and still talk to him? But, he was the son of Hades, so instead of asking her those questions, he decided upon:

"You're powers of observation astound me."

Hermione rolled her eyes and grinned a little. "I don't see why. You left clues all over the place! I mean, who gets struck by lightning their first time flying? And is terrified of the lake? And can speak Ancient Greek? Or curses like that? The ghosts called you 'my lord'. You have a sword. All animals except for screech owls, Cerebrus's and partly-skeleton cats hate you and-"

"Okay, okay, I get it." Nico smiled a little. "I could have been more obvious, we know!"

Hermione slapped his shoulder lightly. "For another, you seem awfully powerful, even for a wizard! But the most important one, the medical lemon bars McGonagall gave you? How did she know? I mean, her name is slightly odd, but it's the Wizarding World! But isn't Minerva the-"

"Yeah, Hermione." Nico yawned slightly. "But with great power comes great need to take a nap. See you in the morning!"

Hermione just scoffed at her best friend's retreating back. Her highly unlucky best friend, for she was definitely going to put him through intensive interrogation all about being a demigod (for example, what does 'claimed' mean?), particularly a son of Hades, tomorrow.

...~0~...

Nico ran up to his dorm, confused beyond belief. Hermione didn't mind his secret? What was going on?

To make the least amount of noise possible, Nico shadow-travelled to his bed, checked that everybody was asleep, and began packing his trunk. Considering his minimal possessions, this task wasn't difficult.

Nico clicked his tongue twice, and in padded Bianca, a pouch of drachmas in mouth.

"Hi Bianca," Nico cooed. "You want me to IM Percy, don't you?"

Bianca nodded her orange head, causing the stripes to ripple.

"Alright, but only because you think I should."

Nico skulked into the dorm's bathroom and locked the door behind him.

"O Iris, goddess of the Rainbow, please accept my offering." He threw a golden drachma into the rainbow mist he'd created. "Show me Percy Jackson."

Percy Jackson, it seemed, was busy.

Percy and a girl with frizzy red hair and stunning emerald eyes - Rachel, Nico thought - were seated in Percy's bedroom, laughing and tossing throw pillows at each other. Their was paint on his bed, and a tray of blue cookies was precariously balanced on top of a stack of picture books. You know those slippery books with loads of ads? Zaganines?

Nico noticed all of this quicker than you could say Quidditch. "I'll come back later." He said to himself. Grinning, Percy turned. His smile disappeared. "Nico, about your pla-"

But he never finished his sentence as Nico swiped a pale hand through him, releasing a breath he didn't realise he was holding.

Stupid, stupid, stupid. Nico thought venomously as he threw open the bathroom door. Percy doesn't need you. Did you see his reaction?Forget Grim Reaper, you're a Grin Reaper. He doesn't want you. Why are you like this?

Close to tears, Nico grabbed his trunk and Bianca and shadow-travelled to his father's palace. He could stay there a couple days and figure out what in Tarturus he was doing with himself.

"Lord Hades, I'm telling you, it is truly impossible to take a man if he is drinking the Elixir of Life. It is you yourself who told me not to meddle with the mortals!" A deep, rich voice rang out from Hades' thrown room.

"Yes, indeed, Thanatos." Nico's father said in his oily tone. "Those wretched mortals, believing they can cheat death. These days, the Elixir is on high demand. But, for now, it is in safe handle down in the magic school of Britain."

"The stupid mortals are entrusting the stone to a school?" Thanatos questioned, obviously bewildered.

"A school which has better security than the worlds best Upperworld bank."

Sensing that the conversation was coming to a close, Nico made a decision. He would go right back to Hogwarts, find the 'stone' and make his father proud. He had to now. It was personal. And luckily, Nico knew just where to start.

Summoning the last of his energy, Nico shadow-travelled back to his four-poster at Hogwarts, stuffed his trunk under his bed, prayed for a dreamless sleep and collapsed.

But since when were Nico's prayers answered?

Nico was in a large workshop, where a small Latino boy and a pretty Latino woman were hunched over work tables, the boy building something simple with wood, the woman something a bit more complicated. The woman excused herself, and left the room, leaving the boy alone. Nico couldn't here anything, but he thought the kid was humming.

One second in peace, calmness, the next the place was engulfed in flames. Nico immediately went to work trying to smother it, but it didn't matter. He was a phantom in this boy's reality. The way the boy handled the situation was to scream and cry, and Nico wanted nothing more than to comfort him.

That's where the fire was put out, and the workshop morphed into a quaint bedroom, the child into a beautiful woman with piercing green eyes was holding a bundled baby close to her. She seemed to be in a frenzy, pushing the baby into a cot, whispering inaudible things.

The reason behind her panic appeared a second later. There was some sort of conversation with a lot of pleading and hand signals reading Get out the way! but the woman stood her ground. A mistake, because a swish of the cloaked man's wand and she crumpled to the floor.

Nico rushed to the woman, checking her pulse, but he knew that she was gone. He knew in his dream that she was never coming back. A blinding flash of green light and Nico stood in Hogwarts.

A girl with olive skin and waist-length, dark hair had her back turned toward Nico. She was standing before the portrait of the Fat Lady, wiping her eyes.

She took her wand out of her black robes. It was around the same size as Nico's and had a simple B carved into the handle. She took something else from her robes, something Nico recognised instantly. A Mythomagic figurine, Hades.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" She whispered, smiling as Hades hovered above her head and terrorised the various portraits lining the halls. "I knew I could do it! Just wait till I tell mama!"

The dream faded out, and when he woke, it was with a smile. For he had just caught a glimpse of his sister, Bianca.

Which raised the questions: How did he not know that Bianca had been at Hogwarts? How long ago was that? Why couldn't he remember before the lawyer bringing him to Westover Hall? Where the Hades are his memories?

...~0~...

Yes, I am fully aware that that chapter was a bit boring, but it was necessary for the plot. Anyway, if somebody knows how to end a very suspenseful scene nicely, PLEASE let me know because that Hermione-Nico-confession scene was a bit sad.

Also, you may have noticed the colour change of Bianca (the cat), it was on purpose. Bianca is now sometimes a striped, orange tabby, if you want to go back to Chapter Two, Bianca and Nico's first meeting, I have edited that.

Review time!

Hester the Meme: Thanks so much! And by the way, those are some amazhang references :)

YAYSOLANGELO: Thank you! Solangelo was my OTP too but ever since the Nico/Hermione thing started up, well I don't even know anymore. Also, another thank you for leading me to Best Friends. If you were talking about the one by tallshadow72, I am literally forever in your debt. IT IS AWESOME! Do you know how long it's been since the author last posted? Because I need to continue reading it! That's the reason this chapter took so long to come out, by the way. And I really see what you mean by similarities. There isn't many PJO/HP crossovers with Nico is Gryffindor, BFF's with Hermione, Nico has a skeleton cat and Leo is present. Wow. Well, I will try to make this fanfiction a bit more unique from now on.

~ Ghost Queen.0