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

Chapter Fourteen

I smirk at Ron as he walks back to his seat and sits down, embarrassed. The twins are snickering beside me and Harry is trying not to laugh. He was whispering during class and professor McGonagall made him get up and be her dance partner to punish him. You see, I am currently in class where professor is teaching us how to dance for when the Yule ball comes.

"It seems Mr. Weasley has had enough. Now, the rest of you are going to try. Does anyone here have any experience with dancing that could lead with me?" She asks. She scans the crowd but no one raises their hand or speaks up. I sigh and get up. I know what you are probable thinking: You of all people can dance? Well for your information yes I can. First of all, Will's sister Kayla made us both take a class with her. Secondly, I'm a dark, mysterious Italian. Think about it, is it really that surprising? Whispers and snickering fill the room as soon as I stand up. I turn around and smirk at all of the shocked faces. I want to laugh so badly right now, but professor might think I'm being rude, so I hold it in. She too looks surprised, but in a good way. She looks pleased, relieved and proud, like I just proved that there is still hope for this generation.

"Mr. Di Angelo? Very well." She says with a smile. "The rest of you, get up!" Everyone jumps to their feet and drag themselves onto the "dance floor". Professor starts the music and we quickly get into position. I can see the others scrambling to get into the correct position. Then we start. Unlike Ron who was nervous and clumsy I dance with as much grace as the professor. The steps are so basic its actually funny to see the others struggling. Before I know it the song is over and we finish the dance.

"Thank you for setting a good example." She tells me and I laugh. "No problem, that was fun!" I say and she chuckles. "Dismissed." As I leave the class I sense Ron and Harry walking beside me and I turn to look at them.

"Blimey! Where'd you learn to dance like that?" Ron asks with a bewildered expression. I simply smirk and ignore the question. I'm surprised no one else knows how to dance, it really isn't that hard! Or maybe it is and I just can't see it. Either way, that was an awesome class! My thoughts suddenly turn to the Yule ball. I have several problems regarding this particular event and I don't know how to fix most of them. The first is that I'm gay. Who am I supposed to go with? The best choice would be to go with a close friend, someone who has no romantic feelings for me. But Hermione is my only friend that is a girl so far and I know for a fact that Viktor is interested in her. It's surprising really, he could invite any girl to the ball and they would happily go with him. And out of all girls, he chooses Hermione, the know it all and many people disrespect her for this... a muggleborn. My respect for Victor rose by like 1000 points after I realised this. I really have no one to go with... but I need to go with someone!  I wish I could take Will but even though I am not at all ashamed to be with him in public... I don't know how the rest of Hogwarts feels about homosexuality. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Victor and Fleur were totally cool with it but they are all my good friends now so I know they all support me. So sadly, bringing Will is out of the question.

But maybe I'm onto something. I might not be able to bring my boyfriend... but there isn't anything wrong with inviting a girl  from camp. I'll have to think about this later, right now I'm going to enjoy my lunch!

2:00pm, December 24th 

I smile at Reyna as she dismounts her new Pegasus. Since Scipio sadly died during the war, Reyna had to find a new companion. Her new Pegasus is a white/grey colour and its wings seem to sparkle under the moonlight. She named him Prosper which comes from the Latin name Prosperus. It means fortunate or lucky or successful. I've ridden Prosper with Reyna several times during the war games. I often aide her with supervising.

Many of you are probably wondering why I brought Reyna instead of my sister Hazel. I do have a few reasons, before you scold me for being a horrible brother. The first is that Hazel doesn't realize exactly how important this mission is. She may be good at keeping secrets, but she is still young and may not realize she is giving away too much. She also doesn't know about the lies I tell these wizards and she might accidently tell a story that doesn't match up to mine, causing a lot of suspicion. I love Hazel very much but I don't know how well she could handle being in a school of magic. I have many great reasons for inviting Reyna. She is very mature and composed and won't freak out when she see's the wizard's magic. I know that she will be able to remain calm and act as if nothing here is new to her. She has had to be a leader and a strong person her entire life and knows what it is like to keep things from others and what things she can say and cannot say. Reyna is also one of my closest friends and I can have fun with her without being embarrassed or getting into trouble. She was naturally the first person I thought of.

"Nico! It's so good to see you!" She says happily and rushes forward to hug me. Her dark hair is covered by a red beanie and she wears a thick black winter jacket. A purple knit scarf is wrapped snuggly around her neck.

"It's good to see you too, I wish you didn't have to leave tomorrow." I say sadly.

"At least we get to spend Christmas together!" She says brightly and my frown is replaced by a grateful smile.

"You're right. Come on, I'll show you around." I say and we bring Prosper to a tiny stable that Hagrid just built for the Pegasus recently. It only took a few minutes since you know... magic. We then begin the walk to the castle. We pass several students along the way who either wave to me or stare at Reyna. I am friends with a lot of people here, or at least acquaintances. I'm just not close friends with many people. Surprisingly no one is scared of my sword and darker style of magic, they seem to find it "wicked" or whatever they say. Reyna is looking around in wonder but she doesn't look too surprised or amazed, which is exactly what I need. I introduce her to Dumbledore who is aware she is a demigod. He and Sevy are the only ones in the school that know my true identity, although I would like to tell Minerva at some point. After that we spend the next few hours wandering around the castle. At dinner I introduce her to my friends but we don't have long to talk before everyone rushes back to their dorms to get ready for the ball. Reyna seems to be enjoying herself immensely here at Hogwarts and I do not regret inviting her in the slightest. Reyna rarely has time to enjoy herself these days, although it has gotten much better for her since the war was put to an end. I hope that she will be able to forget everything and have fun for the night. She's my best friend and she deserves it the most.

 I change into my black modern dress robe thingy. Honestly I've just been calling it a wizard suit, well of course not in front of the wizards. That would cause mass suspicion on my part. I walk down to the common room with Victor to wait for Reyna, who is getting ready with Hermione. We talk for a while before the girls are finally ready. Reyna comes down first. She changed into a beautiful strapless, purple silk dress with black Greek styled sandals. I smile at her choice of clothing , the purple to represent new Rome and the shoes to represent camp Half-Blood. When she reaches me I hold out my arm for her to take and she links her arm through mine.

"You look beautiful, Reyna. " I say with a warm smile. "Now let's go downstairs and join the party."