The Coming of Nico di Angelo

The Scavenger Hunt of Death

CHAPTER SUMMARY

Percy, Annabeth, and Nico begin their hunt for Tom Riddle's horcruxes in the former home of Marvolo Gaunt.

BEGINNING NOTES

Chapter Rating: Mature
Content Warning: Cursing, Violence (mild), Self-Harm
Word Count: 4509

I'd like to say I have a good reason for posting this so late at night... but I was playing Assassin's Creed: Syndicate and just forgot I had to post today. Oops.

It also looks like one of my original plays are going into pre-production. Keep your fingers crossed for me! I'll keep you updated if that goes anywhere. (That's also my excuse for being basically offline the last two weeks. I will respond to all your comments, I promise!)

And all the characters are owned by J.K. Rowling, or Rick Riordan.

____________________NICO____________________

Little Hangleton, nestled in the valley of two grassy hills, actually looked like a decent place to live. Paved roads, complete with little cars driving on the wrong side of the road, ran all through town. Stone townhouses lined the bustling streets; trees with golden, autumn leaves dotted their front lawns. It made Nico think of May Castellan's house in Connecticut, which had the same paradisiacal aura.

"This way," Annabeth directed, after letting Percy and Nico stare at the village. "I remember the road from Dumbledore, except it was still dirt in the memory."

So, they both followed Annabeth's confident stride, until they reached the old horse trail. Near the overgrown path, they found the ruined remains of the Gaunt's hovel. "There's no way the horcrux is here," Percy said. "There aren't any defenses."

"Let's take a look anyway," Annabeth replied. "It would be stupid not to be sure. I'm just warning you, it's going to be filthy."

Without Annabeth's warning, Nico would've gagged the second he entered. Inside, the entire place resembled a Cyclops's cave. The walls seemed as though they were painted with dirt and grime. Black ash piled at the fireplace, dust completely filled the sink, and the smell of rotting food wafted from the kitchen area. It wasn't every day Nico got to smell food as old as him.

Guess who gets to add another thing to his "I regret ever thinking this wasn't a terrible idea" list?

"Oh gross!" Percy yelled, and Nico turned to see him shaking a dead snake off his shoulder.

Annabeth gave him a sideways glance, rolling her eyes. "I told you about that snake, seaweed brain. It's your own fault for not listening to me."

"Yeah, yeah." Percy shrugged her off, still focused on wiping the snake off his shoulder. "Let's take a look around and get out of here, okay? I don't want rats climbing up my legs or anything."

"We'll split up," Annabeth decided. "I'll take this room. Percy, you go back outside and look around. Nico, check the smaller rooms. There are doors over there."

Nico followed her gaze to two doors, the same color as the walls. "I thought I was the leader here," he mumbled under his breath, but he moved towards the doors all the same. Without Annabeth's initiative, they wouldn't have any leads. He'd let her take control... for now, anyway.

Room number one turned out to be a bedroom, still filthy enough to match the rest of the hovel. Three rusted, iron bed frames sat to the left of the door, where the room extended. Pieces of all three had fallen to the floor, and piles of rust flakes collected around them. The bedding Nico assumed had once been there was long gone; most of the mattresses were also missing as well. The ones that remained were riddled with holes from termites and were crawling with other insects. Nico gagged and turned, but his eyes fell on something worse.