January was a constant headache. Whenever he was around Harry, Nico seemed to get an even worse headache then he usually did. It wasn't just that scar radiating death anymore, it was something else. Nico finally cornered him about it, making sure they were alone before putting a silencing charm on the door.

"What do you have?" Nico asked, a hand to his head as the dandelion pulsated with the pains.

"What do you mean?" Harry grabbed his bag before pulling out a small black book. "You mean this?"

Nico could tell that it was the source immediately. "Why the hell do you have that?"

"Someone threw it at Myrtle." Harry held it out so Nico could look at it. "Ron and I have searched all in it. Nothing's written in it."

"Then why did you feel the need to keep it?" Nico refused to touch it.

"It could be a clue." Harry reasoned. "T. M. Riddle went to this school fifty years ago. It's his diary. Fifty years ago is when the chamber was last opened. It can't be a coincidence, can it?"

"No, I guess not." Nico reached for the book. "Can I?"

Harry handed it over. As soon as it touched Nico's hands, they turned into shadow and it fell through, slamming against the ground.

"Nico!" Harry stepped forward as if he could somehow protect the son of Hades. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Nico drew his hands close to him as they reformed. "Get rid of that thing, Harry."

"But-"

"Get rid of it." Nico's heart was in his stomach. "I think I know what it is. And if it is that...you shouldn't have it near you. At least don't carry it on you."

"What do you think it is?" Harry asked.

Nico ignored the question. "Just don't carry it on you anymore. Please?"

Harry reluctantly agreed. "But do you have any idea who T. M. Riddle is?"

Nico shook his head. "Just get that thing back to your dormitory. It's giving me a headache."

"Yeah, okay." Harry bent down to pick the book up. "Um...Nico?"

"What?"

"Are we going to tell Ron about this?"

"Nope." Nico dug his hands into his pockets, them still tingling from the death in that diary. "Now let's hurry and get you back to your dormitory before he notices."

Harry agreed and they were off. Once he had gone into the Gryffindor common room, Nico left him and went back to his own common room. He felt for Will's soul, and once knowing that he was alive and healthy, went to bed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After Hermione got out of the hospital wing, they went back to trying to find out who Riddle was. Ron showed him where he first saw the name, on an old shield that he had been forced to clean.

"He sounds like Percy," said Ron, wrinkling his nose in disgust. "Prefect, Head Boy...probably top of every class —"

Prefect... Nico snapped his head up to attention. Hecate-!

Yes, young demigod? He could hear her smirk.

That boy I saw in my dream, he was a prefect. He just looked like it. As Ron said, he was like Percy. Is he...was that T. M. Riddle?

What a clever boy. Hecate mused. No wonder we picked you for the job.

What do I need to know about him?

No answer.

He didn't tell the Golden Trio, but he did tell Dominic later that night.

"T. M. Riddle..." Dominic shrugged. "I have no idea who that is." He laid back in his bed, grabbing his phone to scroll through his music.

"He was here when the chamber was opened... If he's dead, I can talk to him." Nico voiced his thoughts out loud. "I could try when I'm delivering the kids' letters."

"It's worth a try." Dominic plugged his headphones in. "I'm going to bed."

Nico rolled his eyes. "The gods said you're supposed to know this stuff."

"How?" Dominic groaned in frustration. "I'm muggle-born! As far as I know, there's no godly blood in my family tree! There's nothing special about me or Tom or anyone else in this equation so just...drop it."

Nico's eyes widened at the outburst but his mind remained on one thing. "Dom...who's Tom?"

"What?" Dominic turned on his side.

"Tom. You said "me or Tom"." Nico stood up. "Tom... T. M. Riddle... Dominic, you're a life-saver." He threw his jacket on. "I've got to get to the library."

Dominic laid there with a shocked expression. "Nico...I don't know where that came from..."

"Yeah, I know, we'll talk about it later, Will." Nico went to kiss his boyfriend on the cheek before realizing that it wasn't his boyfriend at all. "Oh, shit, sorry!"

"Ew!" Dominic pushed himself away from his best friend. "Don't kiss me!"

"I thought you were Will." Nico defended, thankful his lips never touched that cheek though they almost had. "You were talking like Will and he figures things out like that and your voices are similar now that yours is getting deeper."

Dominic shuttered before going to the bathroom. "I need to disinfect myself!"

Nico headed for another bathroom. "I'm way ahead of you!"