Harry Potter and the Lost Half-Bloods. *1*

Harry

Nico Raises the Dead
HARRY:
When I returned to my dorm room that night, Ron was over the moon. His eyes were shining as I entered the room. He was absolutely beaming.

"Hermione and I—"

"You're dating now!" I exclaimed, clapping him on the back. "I know, I've heard! Sorry I wasn't at the dance at the time you received best couple. I was a bit occupied."

As quickly as his smile had appeared, his face fell.

"Oh no. You have the Harry Potter face on now, that's not good. What stupid battle were you in this time?"

I sighed, sprawling out on my bed.

"Natalie Pierce is a lovesick lunatic. I was tied to a tree in the forbidden forest for awhile. But I'm back."

He was gaping.

I filled him in on the events of tonight.

"In summary, we're preparing for something big. Annabeth's theory is that Voldemort has captured a goddess. We have to get her back."

"That isn't a sentence I thought I'd hear this year," Ron admitted. "And to think, I thought me nearly tripping on stage as I received the greatest couple award was a tragedy." He laughed, weakly.

"But are you okay? You said Nico got this information from the ghost of Cedric Diggory. That brings back a lot of not-so-fond memories."

Ron was right, I really wasn't okay. Cedric was a touchy subject for everybody as Hogwarts. For me, just the mention of his name was enough to take me back to that horrid night in the graveyard.

"I'll manage," I said. "I can't sit down and throw myself a pity party, we have a battle to prepare for with a group of unstable people who refer to themselves as demigods, among other things." He nodded.

"And you're sure we can trust these exchange students?"

I shrugged.

"They said their mission was to find their friends. They did that. They could very easily take them away right now, but instead they're sticking around to fight a battle that isn't even theirs to fight. I'd say they're pretty trustable."

That answer seemed to please Ron.

"Loyal group of people, perfect. One less thing to worry about."

He leaned back on his bed and closed his eyes.

I leaned on my bed and did the same. It had been a long day. But in the end, I was happy that Ron and Hermione had a decent time. At least one good thing had come out of today. I drifted off to sleep with that positive thought.

***

When I heard voices in my dream, I thought I was about to drift into a vision. I was relieved to realize that the voice was coming from the real world, not the vision realm. Nico was shaking me awake.

"Honestly, Harry. How many times do I have to say your name before you wake up?" He whispered.

"I'm up, I'm up." I rolled out of bed and followed him out of the dorm.

"What's up?" I asked.

"I can talk to ghosts," he explained. "And your parents are dead."

I stopped in my tracks.

"Don't be stupid, Nico. You can't waste your ability on me."

He laughed.

"Just follow me, okay?"