Big Three at Hogwarts

Part 8

Nico felt another presence in his mind as soon as the hat was on his head. He wasn't surprised when a voice rang through his head.

A demigod, eh? It asked.

Uh-huh. He replied in his mind.

Let down your walls and I can sort you.

Not happening.

If you don't I can't sort you. Nico weighed the pros and cons of letting his walls down. He decided he needed to complete the quest and he was tired of arguing. Nico let down his walls and showed the hat his memories. He saw the Casino, Bianca, the Labyrinth. They flashed in his mind, every painful moment of every painful scenario. What really got to him, was the memories of Tartarus.

The hat screamed, high-pitched, and torturous.

"SO MUCH PAIN!" It screamed, "GRYFFINDOR! MORE PAIN THAN THE GOLDEN TRIO!" It screamed. It hopped off of his head and Nico popped up, walking as confidently as he could to the empty chair by the Golden Trio. Everybody stared, Nico could see from Harry's face that he didn't believe that he'd been through more than him.

"Grace, Thalia!" Said the woman who was introduced as Professor McGonagall. Thalia made her way up and sat on the stool. Her memories couldn't've been as bad a Percy's or Nico's but it must've been really bad. Nico saw Thalia's expression tighten and her gasp. The hat screamed again.

"SO BAD, SO MUCH PAIN, PINE TREE! GRYFFINDOR!" People were whispering now, mostly about the "Pine tree" comment, but, still. Thalia stood and walked to the table, sitting by Nico.

"Jackson, Percy!" McGonagall said, more than a little shaken. Percy walked up, a dark expression on his face, knowing what was coming. He sat on the stool and the hat was placed on his head.

Percy's fists tightened and his jaw clenched. His face went slack with shock and horror filled his expression. The hat screamed again, louder than ever and people covered their ears. Percy's eyes were closed and a single tear fell down his face.

"MORE PAIN AND HORROR THAN THE ENTIRE GOLDEN TRIO COMBINED! LITERAL HELL! GRYFFINDOR! PLEASE, GET ME OFF!" Everything was silent. Percy got up and held his head high as he walked purposefully to the table, footsteps clicking through the quiet hall.

"Alright then," Dumbledore said, "What the Sorting Hat said is true. Despite their young looks, they have been through more than the Golden Trio. It might be hard to believe but I would please ask you to not challenge them, they would not back down from a challenge. I would want you to not challenge them, not for their sake, but yours, you would not come out unscathed. They are here to help with the war. They are more powerful than even me. Please do not make them enemies. We need an alliance with them, without it, we may not win." More silence.

"Anyway, the Forbidden Forest is closed off and curfew is the same. In other news, we have a new professor, Professor Umbridge," he pointed to a pink toad that was the personification of pinkeye. "Now, please, Feast!"

They tried to eat, but every time they touched the food, thunder clapped in the distance. They couldn't eat without sacrificing. They just gave up and didn't eat. When the feast was over, they followed Professor McGonagall to the Gryffindor commons. Once they got there, Harry, Ron, and Hermione turned to then.

"What was up with the sorting, Mate?" Ron asked.

"What do you mean?" Percy asked tightly.

"It screamed and stuff." Harry piped up. Nico scowled.

"It wanted to see our memories, so we showed them," Nico said coldly.

"What could you show it to make it scream like that?" Percy's face darkened with past horrors.