Nico, Voldemort's Older Brother (Being Rewritten)

Selena IX

When we went down to breakfast on the morning of the thirtieth of October, we found that the Great Hall had been decorated overnight. Enormous silk banners hung from the walls, each of them representing a Hogwarts House: red with a gold lion for Gryffindor, blue with a bronze eagle for Ravenclaw, yellow with a black badger for Hufflepuff, and green with a silver serpent for Slytherin. Behind the teacher's' table, the largest banner of all bore the Hogwarts coat of arms: lion, eagle, badger, and snake united around a large letter H.

I sat down with my brother at his table and tried to ignore the looks we were getting from everyone else.

"Why is everyone staring at us?" He asked.

I rolled my eyes, "Because I'm a Ravenclaw, and that people from different houses usually don't sit together."

"Oh," he said, picking at his food.

"Why aren't you eating?" I asked.

He shrugged, "I dunno, I'm not really used to eating after Tartarus and all that stuff."

"Wait what? You went through Tartarus?" I hugged him, "But you're just a baby! How are you still sane?"

"Glad to know my sister isn't sure about my sanity." He said dryly. "And I'm not a baby!"

"No, I'm pretty sure you're way past sane. I think all demigods are." I said in Greek.

He laughed, "Yes, I think that's correct."

There was a pleasant feeling of anticipation in the air that day. Nobody was very attentive in lessons, being much more interested in the arrival that evening of the people from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang.

  When the bell rang early, Nico and I shadow traveled to our rooms, deposited their bags and books as we had been instructed, pulled on our cloaks, and rushed back downstairs into the entrance hall.

The Heads of Houses were ordering their students into lines.

"Weasley, straighten your hat," Professor McGonagall snapped at Ron. "Miss Patil, take that ridiculous thing out of your hair."

Parvati scowled and removed a large ornamental butterfly from the end of her plait.

"Follow me, please," said Professor McGonagall. "First years in front . . . no pushing. . . ."

We filed down the steps and lined up in front of the castle. It was a cold, clear evening; dusk was falling and a pale, transparent-looking moon was already shining over the Forbidden Forest.

Then Dumbledore called out from the back row where he stood with the other teachers —

"Aha! Unless I am very much mistaken, the delegation from Beauxbatons approaches!"

"Where?" said many students eagerly, all looking in different directions.

"There!" yelled a sixth year, pointing over the forest.

Something large, much larger than a broomstick — or, indeed, a hundred broomsticks — was hurtling across the deep blue sky toward the castle, growing larger all the time.