WARNING! SPOILERS FOR THE LAST TWO HP BOOKS IN THIS CHAPTER! (In the second paragraph)

Hey Peoples!

I realized we needed a bit of action, so... here you go.

Enjoy :)

(And I don't own any of this)

Nico POV

Nico looked at the Thestrals in wonder. He'd seen them before in the underworld, they helped deliver messages between Hades and Thanatos, but he never thought they went above-ground. And that they would be pulling wizard carriages. 

However, what was even more interesting  - although, in retrospect, predictable - was that Harry could see them. He could see The Horses of Death, or τα άλογα του θανάτου as they were called in the underworld. Who had Harry seen die? Nico knew that he was there when Dumbledore and Snape died, but that hadn't happened yet. Hadn't he seen his parents die? Maybe that was it.

(Do Nico and Will know about Cedric? I honestly can't remember what I wrote)

Nico shook his head to get rid of his thoughts. It wasn't his business. Well, technically it sort of was, as a child of Hades, but he wasn't going to delve into Harry's life to see why he sees the Thestrals. Death is a personal thing, and a personal experience and Nico wasn't going to overstep any boundaries. Not when he and Will would need all the help they could get to get home. They would - if Nico's suspicions about the prophecy were correct - need Harry, Ron, and Hermione's help.

Nico had been pacing his room the night before they left for Hogwarts, Will already sleeping. He paced, and paced, and paced some more, trying to make more sense of the prophecy. Now, Nico knew that it was dangerous to try and understand prophecies, but Nico couldn't bring himself to care. He wanted to get back... home. To camp. The place where he finally felt like he belonged after years of searching.

*Flashback brought to you by the time stone*

He had been pacing for an hour - although it could have been five minutes for all Nico knew - when the Ginger Twins (as Nico called them) had knocked on the door. Nico had gone over and opened it, giving them a questioning glance. They just smiled mischievously.

"Want a sweet, mate? We made them ourselves." Nico glared at them.

"And what would happen if I did eat it? Boils? Green hair? Will I start talking in rhymes? No thanks."

The twins shrugged helplessly like they couldn't control their mischief-making.

"Alright mate, your loss." 

"Yeah, we'll go ask the Golden Trio. See you later, Nico."

And that's when Nico had paused. He could almost hear his thoughts go to a screeching halt. Golden Trio? Obviously, that would be Harry and his friends, but Golden Trio sounded a lot like Griffin Trio, from the prophecy. But what would Griffins have to do with them?

*End flashback*

A tap on his shoulder jolted him back to reality, and he quickly grabbed the hilt of his sword and whirled around, ready for a fight.

"Sorry mate, didn't mean to startle you. Just... Erm, the carriages are about to leave." Ron told him nervously. Nico nodded and hopped into the carriage, sitting on the wooden seat between Will and the edge. The seat with the least amount of human contact possible.

Nico stared at the passing greenery for the rest of the ride, not paying attention to the conversation surrounding him. A quick blur raced behind some houses, and Nico narrowed his eyes, scanning the countryside for another glimpse. There. Another streak. Fairly low to the ground, and fast. Very fast. It looked like it was following them - stalking them. So unless it was some weird wizard thing, it was a monster. And that... wasn't good, to say the least.

He saw the blur a couple more times, getting closer to them, but never moving slow enough to give Nico an idea of what in his father's name it was. But then, he stopped seeing it completely. And instead of being relieved, Nico stood up quickly, grabbed his sword and unsheathed it, and scanned the area. It was going to make its move.

It was then that Nico realized that he had successfully terrified the occupants of the carriage, and he sighed in exasperation. 

"...Nico? What's up?" Will asked cautiously.

"Everyone except for Will, sit on the floor. Is there any protective magic you know? Barriers, shields?"

Hermione nodded, her body tense. 

"I can cast a protective charm, but it won't hold for more than a few minutes." Nico nodded.

"Then cast it now. Once it goes out, cast it again if you can. Is there anyone behind us, or are we the last carriage?"

"We're the last one," Hermione answered from the floor, keeping calm. Good, no one seemed to be freaking out too much yet.

"Nico, care to share?" Will asked, fingering the bracelet he got from Gringotts. Nico scanned the area once more.

"We're being followed. Have been, for the last half hour or so. I can't tell what it is yet, but it's moving in."

"Now hold on," Ron said squeakily from the floor, "What in Merlin's underpants is happening? We're being followed? By who?"

Nico was already busy searching for the creature, but he heard Will answer.

"Nico and I are pretty important people, and a lot of beings want to kill us. That's why we always carry weapons. And it's not a who, it's a what. Although sometimes it can be a who, usually we have monsters come after us. Monsters who would love to... uh, eat us." Neville made a squeaking sound. "Anyway, Nico and I are trained to deal with this, so don't worry. All you need to do is stay quiet. Cast any magic you think might protect you, but just know that monsters are practically immune to your magic, so stick to defensive... spells. If Nico and I tell you to do something, do it. Last thing: Don't ever mention any of this to anyone, ok? If the wrong person finds out, it would be bad."

Neville, Luna, and the Trio all nodded, so Will took off his bracelet, and was suddenly holding a bow and a quiver full of arrows. He slung the quiver over his back and stood at the opposite entrance of the carriage to Nico. 

Nico glanced back at the huddle of wide-eyed wizards on the wood floor and sighed. With a quick shout to Will to cover him, he turned to them and pulled out a dagger from his boot. Their eyes widened even more, and Nico rolled his eyes. He flipped the dagger around and handed it to Luna. Then, he proceeded to take more daggers off of his pant leg, his belt, his arm, etc. Until everyone had a weapon in hand and staring at Nico in suppressed horror.

"If the monster comes for you, which I'm ninety percent sure it won't, stab it with that, got it? And I expect to have those back once we get to the castle, so don't lose th-"

Something slammed into Nico, throwing him to the floor next to the wizards. Nico groaned as his head pounded in the place it hit the wood. He ignored the scared looks the wizards gave him and stood up.

"Will, what happened to covering me?" Nico asked grumpily. His head hurt. Why did he keep getting hurt? Wizards were bad luck, Nico decided.

"Sorry Neeks, it's really fast. You good?"

"I probably have a concussion, but I'm fine otherwise," Nico said, getting back into his place at the side of the carriage. "We need a plan. Any idea what this thing is?"

Will nodded grimly. "I think it's the Ceryneian Hind. Clarise's cabin was having a debate on the best way to kill it. I had to patch up like fifteen kids after that."

"Isn't the Ceryneian Hide that golden antler deer thing that can run really fast? Heracles had to capture it?"

"Yep. I didn't think it was particularly aggressive though."

"Well, it is now," Nico grumbled. "How do we kill it?"

"I say we do it Star Wars style," Will said enthusiastically, and Nico, along with the wizards, stared at him blankly. Will sighed heavily, and Nico thought he heard him say 'boomers' under his breath. What in Zeus's underpants is a boomer? Before Nico could ask, Will continued. "Basically, we wrap up its legs so it can't move."

Nico nodded. "You think you can do that with an arrow? I can try to distract it." 

Will knocked an arrow. "Let's do this."

*End Chapter*

Bwahahahahaha I leave you in suspense!

Hope you liked it though! This story was in need of some action in my opinion.

I actually laughed at myself when I wrote Will calling Nico a boomer. My whole family thinks I'm crazy. Although, they thought I was doing school work, so...

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it!