The Coming of Nico di Angelo

Where Girly Girls Go to Die

CHAPTER SUMMARY

The first Quidditch Match of the season takes place. Harry and Nico attend their detention with Dolores Umbridge.

BEGINNING NOTES

Chapter Rating: Mature
Content Warning: Cursing, Violence (mild), Self-Harm
Word Count: 4246

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

____________________PERCY____________________

The Saturday of the first Quidditch match, Percy realized with a jolt that it was already November. He and his friends had been at Hogwarts for two months already, and the quest was nowhere near complete. Percy knew that Nico hated how slow it was going, but, well, Percy liked Hogwarts. Fred and George were nice, Quidditch was awesome, and he didn't have to learn "school" things like math, science, or English. If TVs and computers worked here, Percy would never want to leave.

At breakfast, he approached Angelina about the game. He was just a sub, but Katie had been complaining about a sore throat for the past couple of days; she'd spent the night in the hospital wing with a fever. If she wasn't able to play today, he'd be playing chaser for her.

"Percy!" Angelina found him in the Great Hall minutes into the meal. "Katie's still sick; Madam Pomfrey said she'll be okay, but she needs rest. I've been arguing with Katie for the last ten minutes. She wanted to play, even though she can barely stand. You can fill in, can't you?"

" 'Course," Percy agreed.

Angelina breathed a sigh of relief. "I knew it was a good idea having you on the team. All right, tell the others to meet me on the pitch in twenty minutes. I need to figure out the final details of today's game from Madam Hooch."

Percy did so, then scarfed down a quick breakfast. Excitement and adrenaline pumped through his veins; he was going to play for the first time in front of an audience. The months of training were fun, but now this counted towards something. Just like the difference between Camp Half-Blood and questing. Something was on the line.

Twenty minutes later, Angelina addressed the team before the game. "Okay, I've only just found out the final lineup for Slytherin," she said, eyes on a piece of parchment. "Last year's Beaters, Derrick and Bole, have left now, but it looks as though Montague's replaced them with the usual gorillas, rather than anyone who can fly particularly well. They're two blokes called Crabbe and Goyle, I don't know much about them--"

"We do," Harry and Ron announced in unison.

"Well, they don't look bright enough to tell one end of a broom from another." Angelina put her parchment in her pocket, and looked at Harry with a dry smile. "But then, I was always surprised Derrick and Bole managed to find their way onto the pitch without signposts."

"Crabbe and Goyle are in the same mold," Harry assured her.

Percy could hear everyone entering the stands now. He noticed singing as well, though it was too garbled to make out any lyrics. Annabeth and Nico were up there, ready to watch him either prove his athletic prowess, or make a complete fool of himself. He was hoping for the first option; if he messed up, his friends would no doubt tell the camp, and Jason would never shut up about it.

"It's time," Angelina proclaimed, looking at her watch. "Come on everyone... good luck."

They filed out of the locker room single file, brooms at their sides. Percy still heard singing, but now it was almost entirely drowned out by the cheering and whistling crowd. He saw Annabeth with Cho Chang, waving to him with a smile. Nico stood off to the side of the Slytherin section, earbuds in his ears and looking downright miserable, but he still gave Percy a thumbs up when the son of Poseidon caught his eye.