Nico returns.

Chapter Rating: General Audiences

Content Warning: None

Word Count: 2586

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

Credits at the end.

____________________NICO____________________

Fa la ninna, fa la nanna [Go to sleep, go to sleepy]

Nella braccia della mamma [In the arms of your mother]

Fa la ninna bel bambin, [Go to sleep, lovely child,]

Fa la nanna bambin bel, [Go to sleepy, child so lovely]

Fa la ninna, fa la nanna [Go to sleep, go to sleepy]

Nella braccia della mamma. [In the arms of your mother]

Nico woke to the sounds of silence. He looked around his room; Bianca's bed was already made. Nico stared in surprise; he tended to wake hours before his sister.

So, curious and looking for an answer, he pulled the sheets from his body and slid off his own bed. He relished in the soft thump his bare feet made as they hit the wooden floor; it always signaled his arrival to Bianca every morning. A soft thump meant Nico di Angelo was awake.

Though the floor felt cold on the soles of his feet, Nico continued his trek down the hall, the pitter-patter bouncing off the walls. Bianca wasn't in the bathroom or the library or the kitchen. So, he opened the final door in the hallway and walked up the stairs.

At the sound of Nico's feet, Mamma turned and smiled. "Buon giorno, Nico," she cooed in that melodic voice. She pushed her chair from her work-table and went to him; she put her hands under his arms and lifted him into the air with an exaggerated grunt. "Such a big boy," she teased, switching to English. She often did that, so he'd know both her language and the language of his and Bianca's father--the American. "If you grow anymore, I might have to pile bricks on your head, mio piccolo angelo."

Nico giggled at the tease; it turned to laughter when she tickled his stomach. She smiled at him, waiting for him to speak; he knew she expected English, so he thought long and hard about what to say. "Where are Bianca?" he asked, quite pleased with himself.

"Where is, Nico," Mamma corrected. " Ma altrimenti perfetto He beamed at the praise, even if it wasn't perfect. He understood English fluently, but always had trouble speaking it; this time, though, he knew he got it almost right. "Bianca left with Nonno for Sunday mass."

"Possiamo andare anche noi, mamma?! Nico asked, so excited he forgot to speak English.

"I was waiting for you to wake up, and I just finished the last one. Let me clean the workshop, and we'll join them."

Mamma put him back down on the floor and shuffled through her papers and journal. Nico loved staring at the strange letters of her writings; the letters of his own alphabet but arranged in a different way than either Italian or English. He would watch her for hours as she stared at the strange words, brows furrows and lip bit in concentration, moving her pen as she turned the gibberish to Italian to English to gibberish again, then typed the final product on the special typewriter he wasn't allowed to touch.

"A game," Mamma always said about her pastime. "A puzzle."

She put the puzzles she'd finished and the one she was working on in the closet next to her table, opening and closing the three different locks she changed at least once a week. Then, she took the notes and the cardboard she wrote on and put it on her second table, the one covered in tin foil. She lit a match and set it all on fire, smiling at Nico's wonderment at the orange flames. It died down after a few seconds, and she wrapped the ashes into a tight ball the size of her fist, the black hidden in the center. She put it in her pocket to dispose of later; she never liked throwing her work out near the house.

"Daddy is... no ... is Daddy coming..." He couldn't remember the English word for "tonight," so he finished with, "later?"

Mamma nodded and smiled, as Nico knew she would. Papà always came when she finished her puzzles. Bianca said that's how they met; Papà knew the people who got the puzzles and offered to take them so a young woman wouldn't have to. Neither Bianca nor he knew why Papà cared because Mamma loved taking them on trips.

"Papà and I have a surprise for you if you promise not to tell Nonno." Nico nodded his head as fast as he could. Mamma sunk down to his level and gave a soft but somewhat sad smile. "He's taking us home to America with him for a little while."

"Perché?"

"He wants his children... a little closer right now."

" E Nonno?"

"Nonno wants Papà to take a few vows with me first, and he doesn't want to leave la tomba della Nonna. But, we'll be back so soon you won't have time to miss him."

The old villa was struck by lightning in 1939, according to an old newspaper Nico dug up. It burned to the ground with Nonno inside. Based on the new information, Nonno was killed the same day as Mamma... Zeus's vengeance at his newfound niece and nephew.

After figuring out his childhood home had long since disappeared, Nico had gone to the old church to see it too replaced; whether it was just too old, or Zeus zapped it, or it was a result of his mom's "devil incarnate" (which Nico learned in the same newspaper was Mussolini), it was gone. Mamma had tutored him and Bianca, so he had no other nostalgic places but one:

The site of la tomba della Nonna.

There, he arrived to find Nonno's name and date of death on the same tombstone as Nonna's. Beside that, sat the name and tombstone of Maria di Angelo, her date of death identical to Nonno's. On the same tombstone, below her name, sat Bianca's; December 19th, but 1939 to match the others. Either way, the math worked; she would've been twelve if she'd died in 1939. They spent less than a year together between leaving the Lotus and entering Camp Half-Blood.

Standing on the grassy Earth above what remained of his family, Nico felt a surge of pain and grief rivaling that of when Percy first told him Bianca wasn't coming back. He'd forced himself not to return home for the first forty-eight hours, in case Hades went looking for him. He only wanted to go back to see what happened to Nonno... it had never been about mourning...

But, now, the emotions hit him like a Colchis Bull. He dropped to his knees and palms on the soft dirt and did his best to keep his wail of anguish a few decibels down. He heaved, and he cried, and he thought about every face in those names he saw...

His mother. Using her mind and abilities to help fight a war between demigods. At odds with her own father because she had children out of wedlock. Moved from her country to protect her children from the gods. Dead because she tried everything in her power to keep her children with their mother.

Dead because she loved Nico.

His grandfather. Taking his grandchildren to church every week to try and teach them the values he thought his daughter lost. Opposed to a god because he never stepped up and married the mother of his children. Torn from his daughter because he didn't have the context. Dead because he refused to appease a man he thought was a scoundrel.

Dead because he loved Nico.

His sister. Torn from her parents and forced into a guardian role far sooner than she was ready. Loving him despite his crush on Matt, contradicting everything she learned in church. Telling him over and over that she was working through her prejudice and that everything would go back to before. Joining the Hunters to force her strict Catholic values to bend a little.

Dead because she loved Nico.

Curled in fetal position over his mother and sister's grave, Nico sobbed and did something he'd told himself was too pathetic.

He sang himself his mother's lullaby.

"Fa la ninna... fa la nanna... nella braccia... della mamma... [Go to sleep... go to sleepy... in the arms... of your mother... fa la ninna... bel bambin... fa la nanna... bambin bel... go to sleep... lovely child... go to sleepy... child so lovely... fa la ninna... fa la nanna... nella braccia... nella... go to sleep... go to sleepy... in the arms... in the... bra-- bracia... d-- della... mamma..."a-- arms... of-- of your... mother..."]

He choked into silent tears at the final line, shaking and gasping with his eyes squeezed as he saw his mother in his mind's eye. As he sat there and he cried, Nico started to wonder why he'd even taken this quest to begin with. To appease his father? That seemed too small a price for all the grief it gave him.

Nico sat on his old bed. On the opposite bed wasn't his old roommate Matt, but a young boy with brown hair and eyes. He was a little pale and long and lanky like he'd just had a growth spurt. Innocent eyes watched the son of Hades take in his surroundings. The boy looked ten or eleven, the same age Nico was when he attended the school.

"I can help you," the boy said. "I can make you the person you always wanted."

"I miss this place," Nico thought out loud.

"I can help you," the boy repeated, unfazed despite the fact that Nico had ignored him. He walked over to him and looked him straight in the eye. "Trust me."

"I don't know you," Nico replied. "How can I trust you?"

"Because I can help you," the boy repeated. "Don't you want to be here again? To feel the way you did when your sister was still alive?"

"Bianca?" Nico asked, surprised. "How do you know about her?"

"Because I am you, stupid. It's your dream, your head. Of course, I know about your sister, what do you think of me?" Nico was so caught off guard that he didn't respond. The boy didn't seem to care; instead, he continued speaking. "I can make you the most powerful demigod ever. With my help, you'll finish your quest, make your father proud, and achieve everything you ever wanted. All you need to do is trust me."

"How?!" Nico screamed, no longer caring if anyone heard him. No one was around. "How, Teddy?! I need them back! I need another chance! I need another life! How?!"

A warm hand fell on Nico's shoulder. "I'm here for you, Nico. I'm sorry you feel this much grief over your family."

"How?" Nico sobbed again. "How? How? How? How..."

His body shook with the force of his tears as Teddy wrapped his arms around Nico's neck in a comforting hug. They sat there for an indefinite moment--maybe seconds, maybe hours--until Nico got himself under control, turned, and looked Teddy in the eye.

"You need to go back to Hogwarts," Teddy said.

"No," Nico declared, "I'm never going back there."

"Nico, you don't understand. Hades is on the warpath; he thinks Hecate stole you from him--"

"Let him. Let him wonder what I'm doing for a change. Let him remember what it's like to not have his own personal pawn on standby."

"Nico, he's threatening--"

"HOW?!" Nico screamed, no longer in the mood to argue. "Tell me now, Teddy, or I'm leaving you too."

Teddy was silent for a long moment. "The Artifacts of Thanatos. Hecate sent me to aid you, and in return, I'd give you the artifacts."

"That's just a myth," Nico said. "Propaganda to scare the Giants to surrender during the First Giant War."

"No," Teddy said. "Hades held onto them in secret until he went paranoid, thinking others would steal them and try to dethrone him. He gave them to Persephone, who presented them to three brothers passing by an entrance to the Underworld. They--the Percival Brothers--discovered that they could yield them, but since they were followers of Hecate, the real power of the objects was impossible to use. Like Hades and Persephone had hoped, the new artifacts became a Wizarding legend--the Deathly Hallows--and famous for their reduced qualities."

"The Robes, or the Cloak of Invisibility, is just a long-lasting unit of invisibility, instead of having the power to shield oneself from all magic and any gods. The Staff, or the Elder Wand, is a tool to help win duels, instead of a weapon with the power to enact and speed up up the fading process and kill immortals, or heal and bring crippled immortals back to life. The Orb, or the Resurrection Stone, just brings shadows of a dead loved one back to speak, instead of--"

"Locating a loved one reborn, and giving them back memories of a particular past life for a temporary or permanent period of time," Nico finished, his voice weak. "And Hecate was going to give them to me?"

"Yes," Teddy replied. "Things are a little more complicated than I first said back in the beginning of September; I want to explain it to you all now since things are going so awry. She does too--Hecate, I mean. She asked me to get you so she could explain in person. She still wants to give them to you... but..."

"What? Tell me."

"Hades is threatening genocide on the Wizarding World. Like I said, he thinks she stole you against your will. And... well, Hecate will explain if you choose to speak with her. He's not going to back down, and he won't listen to reason. She hopes that maybe..."

Teddy didn't have to finish his thought. "Maybe if I join her and gather the Hallows, Hades will stand down. As a child of Hades, I can wield them as he can. He won't stand a chance."

Even as Nico said it, the unspoken technicality in the plan hung in the air: If you join Hecate, you're a traitor to Hades.

Too bad he knew how to save my family, and kept me from them for six years.

"I renounce him," Nico vowed. "I renounce Hades, Lord of the Dead, as my father. I accept Hecate's patronage, and her mission, and I will fight beside her for as long as she lets me."

Teddy looked at his sudden declaration with shock. "Then, I'll take you to her. Your vow means nothing until she tells you everything and offers you the position she has in mind. If you accept it, and she blesses your patronage, that's it."

"All right."

"You can't go back now."

"Why would I want to?"

"One last thing." Teddy took a step closer to Nico, shame in his eyes. "I lied to you. Hecate told me not to, but I was so afraid you wouldn't trust me... Teddy Lupin's real, but he's not me. I'm not a Follower of Hecate... I'm a son of Hecate."

In the wake of Nico's stunned silence, the not-Teddy mumbled an incantation to himself and morphed. He looked the same as Teddy, but older; eighteen rather than eleven. He held out his hand with hesitation, fearful Nico wouldn't accept his friendship back.

"It's okay, Ted-- um... whoever you are. I would've done the same thing; you never forced me to accept your help or your training. I don't care who you said you were. To be honest, you were right; with the rivalry between your mom and my ex-dad, I would never have accepted your help."

The not-Teddy had disbelief in his eyes, so Nico continued. "What's your name? Tell me, and we'll go to your mother." More silence, so Nico grabbed his hand and smiled. "I'm serious. I'm not mad. What's your name?"

The not-Teddy beamed back in unadulterated joy. "Alabaster. Alabaster C. Torrington."

I put nothing up top 'cause I knew you'd skip it anyway.

Sorry for the late posting. I thought I posted this morning and I was about to go to bed then I realized I never did and was like SHIT!!!

So... we finally know who Teddy is! What do you think? Did you guess it? I'm curious!

I didn't write that Italian lullaby. A link to the site I got it from and an audio of a man singing it (if you wanna know the tune) is right here: http://www.mamalisa.com/?t=es&p=1447

.Format note on the Italian: I used italics when Maria or Nico switched languages in the same line, to show the shift. But, since I didn't italicize any Italian previously where the entire paragraph was in Italian, I kept it non-italicized. For the format police out there that need a reason for everything--I do my best to keep things consistent.

Also--Giulia's still away, so this is only edited by Sara. And, because summer, Giulia comes back tomorrow but Sara leaves today, so CH 33 will be Sara-less. After that, hopefully the team'll be back together.

This week's beta commentary:

STORY: Teddy wrapped his arms around Nico's neck in a comforting hug

SARA: I'd ship it.

LISSY: Neddy? Tedco?

SARA: TECO

LISSY: TECO

Credits:

Melody Rose - Author ()

Sara - Beta Reader (http://icomparemyselftoyou.tumblr.com)

Italian Translators: Animely (http://archiveofourown.org/users/Animely/pseuds/Animely)

TheQueenOfTheCourt (http://archiveofourown.org/users/TheQueenOfThe

Court/pseuds/TheQueenOfTheCourt)