An Unexpected Return (Book Two In The Prince Of Darkness Trilogy)

The Preparation Begins

A/N: I'M SORRY THIS IS LATE OK? I'M SORRY.

Now for the disclaimer.

Percy: I'm back and ready for this!
Me: Suuuuuuure...
Percy: I am! The Wizarding World is owned by J.K Rowling and my friends and I are owned by Rick Riordan!
Me: Adequate. Let's continue.

***Nico's P.O.V***

The trio left, where to I don't know. I stayed, shifting on my feet like the ADHD kid I am. Professor Dumbledore smiled a little and told me to sit. With increasing nervousness, I slipped into one of the chairs on the opposite side of the desk and sat on the edge of my seat tentatively. "Nico," he began, his hands resting the desk "I must ask you a question."

"Ask away professor." A playful smirk appeared on my face.

"How are you only 16 after 70 years?"

"My father put me and Bianca in the Lotus Casino. In there, a second was a minute, a minute was an hour, and a hour was a day. It seemed like we were there for barely a month, but we had actually been there for 70 years. We didn't age inside the Casino so I'm mentally and physically 16."

"And where is your sister? She never wanted to leave your side when you were younger." My heart stopped and my gaze turned cold to match my voice as I answered his question.

"She's dead."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Professor?"

"Yes Nico?"

"How did you know my mother?"

"I visited Italy at one point. We met at an opera house. She was a very admirable lady."

"I see. How do you suggest I train your students? Considering Eris' nature, we should expect an army of considerable size."

"5th, 6th and 7th years will train. You can use the Room of Requirement after lessons end."

"Thank you Professor."

"It is my pleasure Nico. Your mother would be proud."

I left the office, and then realised I had no idea where the Room of Requirement was. I was off to a great start. After a lot of wandering, and getting shouted at by angry paintings, I found a large door that lead into a room perfect for my needs. I decided that this was probably the room, and took in my surroundings. There was a wide selection of weapons lining the left wall, ranging from daggers to bows, as well as spears and a couple of staffs. There was a large expanse of books, which seemed like a waste of time until I realised that they were in Greek. Flipping through the pages, I saw diagrams of wand movements, pictures of myths and battle manoeuvres. They were all intricately detailed. I moved on from the books and walked over to another corner, where there was a hammock that I dumped my sketchpad on. I sat down next to it and gazed at the room in its entirety.

I fidgeted with my skull ring as I thought about the upcoming battle. Eris was unpredictable indeed - there was no way to know exactly what she was planning. The matter of Boreas only raised further complications. Suddenly, I heard a knock at the door and Harry opened it a crack. I walked over to him with a small half smile on my face. "Hey Harry." Out of the trio he was the only one who trusted me. Hermione hated me like Zeus, Ron... He was wary of me, that was for sure. He walked in and fiddled with the sleeve of his robe nervously.

"Hey Nico. I uh..." I looked at him questionably and he gulped. "I mean-"
He exhaled, and clutched his wand rightly.

"Will there really be a war? Because Dumbledore's been preparing me for the one against Voldemort and now I can't help but think that because I'm the Boy Who Lived people will expect me to pull off some heroic stunt but I don't think I can do it because honestly I've never used a sword before except for the Sword of Gryffindor and-" I cut him off by hugging him suddenly, which was very out of character for me.

"Yeah there is, and that sucks. But Harry? Don't let other people define your future for you. Battles are not won by stunts or single people alone."

"Then what are they won by?"

"They're won by teamwork, and strength. But not all of that strength has to come from one person that people put the weight of the world on,  because otherwise there wouldn't be a team, or an army, or anything. There would be nothing because everything truly great is a thing that was shared. A thing that was won by something more than skill." There was a coughing sound from the left of me and a slow clap. I let go of Harry and turned towards the noise.

"I have taught you well Death Breath, I have taught you well. Nice pep talk you have there, I am impressed that you talked to another human like that without wanting to kill them. Impressive indeed."

"Oh drop the theatrics Sunshine. This is Harry. Harry, this is Will Solace."

Will smiled and slung an arm around my shoulder. "Nice to meet you Harry, now come on Neeks, we've got wizards to train."

A/N: Hey.

I have a question.

Will you answer my question?

Do you like SOUP?

Do you like soup?

Oh soup.

If you knew where that came from, have some soup.

If you didn't and still want soup...have some soup.

If you didn't and don't care about soup, it was a TikTok and we can move on.

Ok! Question of the Chapter:

Favourite Fictional Universe?

Thanks for reading, if you enjoyed this comment and vote and if you would like to see more of my stuff, follow me! I'll be posting a Solangelo AU on my Short Stories book soon, so if you like Solangelo, make sure sure to check it out! There are also some other stories you might like to read.

Until next time readers.

~HouserOfStories