Nico Di Angelo and the Goblet of Fire •Book one of the Two Dark Lords series•

Chapter Eleven

I hate Rita Skeeter from the moment I meet her. I walk into the room where Harry said he had to go for his interview. I promised I'd meet him up here after it was over, you see we are going to figure out as much as we can about the first challenge and how Harry can deal with the dragon. I do not recognize this room, which is not shocking, I've only been around half of the castle. The first person I notice is Harry, sitting on a chair staring up at the ceiling and looking bored out of his mind. I smirk at him as he finally sees me and scowls. Maybe I am a little late...

"Was she being mean to you, little boy?" I ask in an imitation of Alecto. Harry scowls at me jokingly and I burst into laughter.

I am such a good friend.

"Hey Nico." Victor says half-heartedly as he comes out of a broom closet, Rita hot on his heels. Now that I look at them all, I don't think any of them had much fun with this stupid git. I then have the brilliant idea to bug him. He can't say anything rude in front of Rita because she might just put it in his article. I really hope Victor doesn't hate me for this.

"Victor, what happened to you? You look absolutely dreadful." I ask in an overly concerned voice and he raises an eyebrow. He is already in a bad mood so his words come out with an exasperated tone.

"Nico, what are you talking about? I'm fine!" He says, throwing his hands in the air.

"Victor Krum don't you lie to me! Did something happen during your interview?" I ask innocently and he glares at me with a scowl on his face. Looks like he caught on to what I'm doing. Oops. Victor snaps, the fact that Rita is right behind him seemingly forgotten.

"Actually yes, the interview was horri-" He starts to say but Rita interrupts him with a very fake smile on her face.

"Was something wrong with the way I interviewed you? because we can go back and do it again." She suggests with a sickly sweet voice. I almost barf from hearing it, yeah okay I am over exaggerating just a wee bit. Going back into reality, Victor puts a very pained smile on his face and turns to Rita. "No the interview was lovely." He says through gritted teeth. Of course he doesn't mean it, he is just not allowed to disrespect her as she works for the ministry and it would earn him a very bad reputation. Rita finally leaves and Victor pulls me in for a harsh noogie as soon as the door closes. Soon Harry and Fleur are laughing their asses off as they watch our quarrel.

"Dude." I say while attempting to fix my hair. "Not cool." Victor laughs, a loud whole-hearted laugh that booms around the room. The next thing I know, all four of us are on the floor, laughing for all we are worth. Laughing feels strange to me. It seems to fight off my frown like Percy fought of Kronos, and we all know who won that fight. I've never realized it before, but the feeling of happiness is the most powerful of all. None of my doubts or angry feelings stand a chance against it. And I decide that I like feeling happy. So I let the laughs come, and they don't stop for many long minutes, it actually feels like hours. After the four of us settle down and stand back up, Harry smiles happily at me.

"I don't think I've ever seen you laugh before, Nico." He says and I smile shyly. "Yeah, it doesn't happen very often." I admit. "But that is about to change. I promise."

The four of us stand in a comfortable silence until Victor speaks. "I was actually thinking of heading up to Hogsmeade after our interviews, I don't need permission to go since I'm not from Hogwarts. Do you three want to come?" He asks.

Fleur agrees to go politely. I am not sure if I am allowed to go as I am technically not a Hogwarts student, but I am posing as one. You know what, screw the rules!

"Sure I'll come." I say smirking. I then remember Harry who is standing in the doorway. "You are coming right Harry?" I ask and he smiles.

"I actually need to go to the library to study, remember Nico? But thanks for inviting me." He says sincerely and we bid our goodbyes before leaving the school grounds. Twenty minutes later the three of us sit at a table in a pub called the Three Broomsticks.

"What would you like? I'm getting firewhiskey." Asks Victor and Fleur immediately responds with an enthusiastic "Butterbeer!" I have never heard of any drinks from the wizarding world, but I want something strong so I go with what Victor says.

"Firewhiskey for me I guess." I say and Victor laughs. "Not a chance!" He says in between laughs. "I'm eighteen, you need to be seventeen to drink it." He finishes and grins at me sympathetically. My cheeks flush and I glare at him, suddenly an idea pops into my head.

"I am seventeen, I just practice different types of magic at my camp, not all of what they learn at Hogwarts so Dumbledore put me in a lower year." I say, which isn't a total lie. I'm technically like 70 years old if you count the years I spent in the Lotus hotel and casino. I really hate that place! I keep a straight face and Victor seems to believe me.

"I guess that makes sense. You don't exactly look fifteen if I do say so myself." What he says is also true. The two wars I have been in and intense years of training have really taken a toll on me. It looks like I have the body of an eighteen year old, which I don't exactly mind. It helps me to look intimidating even when I am with Will, who is so tall that he towers over me. Oh how I miss Will, I haven't seen him for nearly a month now. I wish he could be here with me, I know he would love Hogwarts. In fact the whole gang would love it here.

Annabeth would be amazed by the architecture of the castle and would spend hours walking through the halls and trying to figure out how the moving stairs work.
Percy would love the lake, he would probably enjoy the view from the Slytherin dungeons. I know for a fact he would become obsessed with HoneyDukes.
Jason's favourite part of Hogwarts would definitely be watching the Quidditch games. I wouldn't be surprised if he tried to join a team himself.
Piper would be totally mesmerized by the spells and stories Hogwarts has to offer. She would probably get along well with Ginny, Ron's younger sister.
Leo would try to master every spell in the books. I can just picture him trying to impress his girlfriend Calypso, only to have something explode in his face. He would love the firewhiskey.
Hazel would probably become friends with Luna Lovegood. I can imagine them feeding the thestrals together. She would just get caught up in the magic of everything. Being the protective sister she is, she would be way too proud of me for coming out of my shell and making friends here.
Frank would just enjoy spending time with everyone, especially Hazel. He would probably love watching the triwizard tournament. He is way more confidant and competitive now.

And Will, I miss him the most. I can picture him making weird faces at me across the room during the boring divination classes. He would always make sure I have a full plate at every meal. I wish I could bring him to watch Harry's Quidditch games. I subconsciously let out a sigh of longing and homesickness, causing Victor and Fleur to stop mid-conversation and look at me.

"Are you okay?" Fleur asks and I nod. "Yeah. I just miss my boyfriend." I say, too busy drowning in my sorrows to see my mistake. When I finally realize what I have said, I jump up out of my seat exclaiming "Shit!" Fleur's mouth drops open and Victor spits his firewhiskey all over my face. I sigh and look at him exasperatedly and ask "Really?" He just sits there, his mouth opening and closing like a fish. It reminds me of how Percy first reacted when he found out that I am gay.

"Yes I'm gay. Now close your mouth or you'll catch flies." I say and his mouth snaps shut. I pull out a photo from my jacket pocket and study it with a faint smile on my lips. The picture displays Will and I sitting close to the campfire with the entire camp surrounding us. I'm leaning into Will's side as his mouth is parted open slightly in mid-sentence. A scrape runs across his cheek from the game of capture the flag we had just played earlier that night. He is grinning widely, like he usually is and his eyes gaze lovingly into mine as he sings. I remember this moment perfectly, after capture the flag we had gone to change out of our dirty and torn clothes before rushing to the amphitheatre. Will, being the head of the Apollo cabin had lead most of the songs, including "Photograph" by Ed Sheeran, which he had shamelessly dedicated to me in front of the whole camp. That night was also very special because as we were walking back to our cabins after the campfire, we had both said "I love you" for the very first time. I slide the picture across the table and Fleur immediately grabs it, Victor leaning over her shoulder to see. "His name is Will." I say and watch as a smile spreads across my new friend's faces. They ask some questions and I answer some. All in all I had a pretty fun day, even though I had an encounter with Rita Skeeter.