AN: Honestly yeah technology might not work at Hogwarts but lets say for the sake of this story it does because...well, it's fanfiction and it's not that big of a thing...(and I'm just too lazy to change it)

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The next morning at breakfast, Nico and Dominic sat five feet apart at the Hufflepuff table. Nico still gave out heir of Slytherin vibes, leaving no one to sit between them. For the first ten minutes, it was silent.

"Are you going to scootch over here?" Nico finally asked. "I can't talk to you when you're that far."

Dominic shook his head. "I'm still getting your germs off me."

"I didn't even kiss you!" Nico groaned in frustration. "I got like two inches too close!"

"We use the metric system, Nico." Dominic dug into his cereal. "And I'm not letting it happen again."

"It was a mistake, Dom. I'm sorry. For some reason my mind...I just thought you were Will." Nico tried to explain. "You look similar...and talk similar...and I'm worried about him so I'm thinking about him more."

Dominic moved an inch closer but still remained at a distance. "Is he still in London?"

"As far as I know." Nico rubbed his tired eyes. "Did you have nightmares last night?"

Dominic nodded. "And you?"

"Like always."

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Valentine's day hit and Nico wanted to strangle anyone he saw. Pink was too bright, the red looked too much like blood. Throughout the whole day, he kept five feet away from Dominic. There were too many times he thought that boy was Will. Almost like his mind was slipping, he would mistake him for him almost every day.

"Aren't you going to send a valentine?" Ron teased. "You've got to if you've kissed him, don't you?"

It was all fun and games throughout the day for those who had the will to make it so. But Nico couldn't go anywhere near Harry without a splitting headache, and by lunchtime, he had a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Later that night, he found out exactly what was wrong.

"Wait, explain it again." Nico sat on Ron's bed, having put a silencing charm on the door so no other boys could overhear. Harry was sitting on his own bed, his eyes lit with...with something.

"It's Hagrid," he repeated. "He opened the Chamber of Secrets."

"You two are insane." Nico put his head in his hands. "You're trusting Tom Riddle, a boy from fifty years ago, over Hagrid."

"You're from fifty years ago," Ron inputted.

"More than that but that doesn't matter." Nico went over to where Harry had the diary. "That thing needs to be destroyed."

"We can't destroy it," Harry argued. "It's got clues in it. Tom Riddle, he showed me who did it. He's showing me how to help."

"You really think he's doing it just to help?" Nico asked. "He's a boy from fifty years ago. He would have no need to help...he shouldn't even be able to help!"

"But he did." Harry put the diary in his bag. "We'll ask Hermione tomorrow. It's getting late."

Nico rolled his eyes. "Whatever. But we're destroying that thing. It's full of death, Harry."

"You feel death wherever you go," Ron spoke up. "You know you do, Nico. Even at Diagon Alley, you did!"

"It was more in Knockturn Alley, Ronald." Nico stood up. "I'm going to my dormitory. Just...don't do anything else dangerous throughout the night."

He went to bed but the feeling of dread never left him. Halfway through the night, he dreamt of the same field of flowers Persephone had come to him in last.

"Persephone?" Nico looked around, touching his collarbone. "What's wrong?"

Persephone appeared before him, eyes trained on him. "Nico...there's a lot going on right now. Too much. I've come to help you. Even just to make sense of what you already know."

"And you're doing this...why?" he asked. "Shouldn't you be busy doing something else? Spring's gonna be coming."

"And your father is worried about you." she sat down, the flowers growing even more at her touch. "Sit, there's much to discuss."

Nico sat across from her. "Have you been watching?"

She nodded. "All the time. You're the only young hero I have out on a quest, you know. And I don't have any demigod children."

"Do you have any kids?" Nico asked, smirking.

"Nico, don't test me," she snapped. "You've met one and know of the other."

"Okay, okay, fine." he held his hands up in surrender. "Now, talk to me. Tell me what I need to know."

"I can't tell you everything, Nico. This is a quest." she played with one of the flowers beside her. "But as it's such a long and complicated one, Hecate has allowed me to help more than I would have originally been able to."

"Okay..."

"Your main goal has always been to help Harry Potter," she began. "To help him survive long enough for the final battle against Voldemort."

"And I've been trying," Nico said. "I've been trying hard. But he's like Percy. He's a trouble magnet."

"Your father would definitely agree," Persephone admitted with a sigh. "But that's not important. That's not the only factor in this quest. As you've been noticing, there are some odd things happening."

"Odd things? You mean the Chamber of Secrets?" Nico asked.

"And other things." she leaned forward. "Don't underestimate this Chamber of Secrets. It holds something that was used to kill innocents. Don't forget that."

Nico's good mood dropped. "Do you know what the monster is?"

"I can't say, but you'll be able to figure it out if you try." she smiled. "I know you can. You're smart. And you can read English, now. You have access to that whole library."

Nico nodded in acceptance. "Okay...so I'm protecting Harry, figuring out who this monster is... Does it have to do with Tom Riddle? Was Dominic right about his first name being Tom?"

"Unfortunately, he was correct." Persephone's eyes darkened. "Listen to me, Nico. Tom Riddle is known by older wizards by his original name. But you know him by something else. And you need to be careful about throwing his name around. And you need to be careful with that diary of his."

"Someone I know...?" Nico looked at her helplessly. "What does that mean? Does it..." His eyes widened. "You can't possibly mean...You Know Who..."

Persephone looked around nervously. "I can't say any more about it, Nico. I don't want to defy Hecate or the Fates. Change the subject."

"But..." Nico stood up and paced. "Persephone, do you know what that means?"

"Change the subject," she demanded. Her voice had turned awfully low, low enough to get his attention and force him to sit back in front of her again. "We can't talk about it."

Nico didn't speak for a minute, the new information having shaken him up pretty bad. That means...Harry had spoken to Voldemort...

"The Chamber of Secrets isn't the only thing odd happening right now," Persephone spoke up. "Your boyfriend, the son of Apollo-"

"He's finding demigods in Europe," Nico interrupted. "He's been bringing them back to camp. Are you saying that's not safe?"

She shook her head. "He should be fine."

"Then why did you mention him?" Nico asked. "You can't just mention his name right after You Know Who and not expect me to worry."

Persephone's expression turned sad. "Aphrodite really outdid herself to get you two to stick together."

Nico tried to wake himself up but to no avail. "Just leave me alone, Persephone."

"I can't leave you alone, Nico, not when you're not putting these things together," she snapped. "Listen to me. Why do you think Will was sent on that mission? Why do you think he's finding demigods in Europe?"

Nico looked at her for some time before letting himself think on that matter. Getting help from Persephone was one thing, but her telling him the answer was another. He knew she wouldn't say any more on that subject until he could pull his own weight in the conversation.

Will...she was right. Why would they send a healer, not a fighter? It was Apollo that had sent him...

"Are they all Apollo's kids?" Nico asked. "I thought the one wasn't...but if they are...Apollo could have had something over here...had multiple affairs...sent his son to figure it out instead of me or Percy or anyone. He trusts Will and he wants his kids safely at camp."

"I keep forgetting how bright you are," Persephone complimented. "Maybe it's because you've never gone to school before Hogwarts."

"Go away." Nico stood up. "Even though I didn't know that before, I don't get why that's helpful." He went to walk away but scowled. "I'm still dreaming. Let me wake up."

"I'm not done speaking to you."

"I don't care. I don't want to talk about Will anymore." The pangs of longing had started to ache and kept getting stronger. "I can't."

"What we were saying is important to your-"

"I don't care!" Nico snapped. "Just let me wake up! Wake me up!" He kept on yelling, then, yelling until his throat was as raw as his heart. Maybe soulmates were a thing. Maybe he just fell too deeply in love. Maybe demigods experienced it more harshly. But he never thought love could hurt so bad.