Old and Young, Inside Out

Chapter 13

AN: Ron may be a little OOC, but I feel his family is close enough that he would stick up for Nico when he felt he needed it. Thank you all for the reviews and I'm really glad you're enjoying it so far~

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Nico went to Myrtle's bathroom first, thankful to find the Golden Trio finishing up there for the night.

"What are we doing in a girl's bathroom?" Will asked. "Just because you're gay-"

"Ron." Nico knocked on the stall door before opening it. "Look who's here for you to meet."

"Who's he?" Ron asked, barely looking up from the potion. But Hermione stood up as soon as she saw him.

"Will?" she asked. "This is Will?"

Nico nodded. "Will, this is Hermione, one of my friends."

"Nice to meet you." Will dropped his questions about the bathroom as he shook Hermione's hand. "I'm glad to see Nico's actually making friends and not lying to me."

Nico groaned at Hermione's interested look. "Does he not make friends often?" she asked. "Like, before his wizard life?"

"That's not important." Nico cut in. "Will, the one with the glasses is Harry. The other is Ron."

"Nice to meet you," Harry shook Will's hand. "We've heard a lot about you."

Will grinned. "I would hope so." He turned to Ron. "You're his brother?"

"Yeah, so?" Ron didn't seem humored at all. "And you're the ex-boyfriend?"

Nico froze. "Ron..."

"No, it's okay." Will laughed nervously. "Um...yeah, I am."

"And you broke up with him." Ron continued. "You broke up with my little brother."

"We're the same age," Nico grumbled.

"If I hadn't, it would have been pedophilia." Will defended. "I didn't hurt him on purpose, you know. I love him."

"Will, what are you doing here?" Hermione broke in, getting a thankful look from both Harry and Nico. "Aren't you just a demigod, not a wizard?"

"Um, yeah. I'm actually here because Dumbledore's helping me out on my quest." Will explained. "Monsters can't get onto Hogwarts grounds."

"Oh, that's interesting." Hermione leaned forward. "So do all demigods attract monsters? Is it their blood?"

"We smell like food." Nico stepped out of the small stall. "Now, I'm too crowded. Let's go to your common room or something."

They all agreed. As they walked, Will and Hermione led as he explained more of the demigod world to her. Nico kept to the back with Harry and Ron, his hands in his pockets as he looked Ron over. "Why did you do that?"

"Do what?" he asked. "I didn't do anything."

Harry couldn't drop his smile. "I think he was defending his brother."

"Was not!" Ron defended. He kept on it for the rest of the night, but Nico couldn't help but be happy about what had happened. Sure, Ron and Will weren't getting along yet, but his brother was truly acting like a brother.

After dropping them off in the Gryffindor common room, Nico went to his own to get Dominic. He found his old friend laying in bed, reading another book on Divination that he didn't need.

"Get up." Nico pulled his blanket off and dropped it to the floor. "I have someone for you to meet."

Dominic raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"