Mass Collision

17. The Book

"Your father knew what he was getting into, and he won't thank you for messing things up for the Order!" said Sirius angrily in his turn. "This is how it is — this is why you're not in the Order — you don't understand — there are things worth dying for!"

"Easy for you to say, stuck here!" bellowed Fred. "I don't see you risking your neck!"

The little color remaining in Sirius's face drained from it. He looked for a moment as though he would quite like to hit Fred, but when he spoke, it was in a voice of determined calm. "I know it's hard, but we've all got to act as though we don't know anything yet. We've got to stay put, at least until we hear from your mother, all right?"

Fred and George still looked mutinous. Ginny, however, took a few steps over to the nearest chair and sank into it. Harry looked at Ron, who made a funny movement somewhere between a nod and shrug, and they sat down too.

The twins glared at Sirius for another minute, then took seats on either side of Ginny. "That's right," said Sirius encouragingly, "come on, let's all . . . let's all have a drink while we're waiting. Accio Butterbeer!" He raised his wand as he spoke and half a dozen bottles came flying toward us out of the pantry, skidded along the table, scattering the debris of Sirius's meal, and stopped neatly in front of the seven of us. We all drank, and for a while the only sounds were those of the crackling of the kitchen fire and the soft thud of their bottles on the table.

Then a burst of fire in midair illuminated the dirty plates in front of us and as everyone gave cries of shock, a scroll of parchment fell with a thud onto the table, accompanied by a single golden phoenix tail feather. I jumped up from the table and stared at the phoenix.

"Fawkes!" said Sirius at once, snatching up the parchment. "That's not Dumbledore's writing — it must be a message from your mother — here —" He thrust the letter into George's hand, who ripped it open and read aloud, "Dad is still alive. I am setting out for St. Mungo's now. Stay where you are. I will send news as soon as I can. Mum."

George looked around the table. "Still alive . . ." he said slowly. "But that makes it sound . . ."

He didn't need to finish as all the Weasley children were unexpectedly pale. Almost as pale as me. Sirius suggested we all go to bed, but everyone else stayed where they were, dozing off in their seats.

I decided to take his suggestion and head to my room when I stayed last time. Surprisingly, when I made it into the room my trunk was there. I sat down on the ground and opened it. On top was a black book with the symbol of Hades on it. I picked it up, having never seen it before. I opened the pages to see entries.

It looked like I had written it. It was my entire life in detail from my first memory. From my mother, meeting a friend at a nearby orphanage, heading to America, my mother's death, the casino, the monster, meeting Percy and Annabeth, Bianca becoming a hunter, her death, us running away, king Minos. I flipped through pages and pages, maybe this was my chance to keep my memories. I smiled happily as I flipped and flipped until I came to my most recent memory. It was just after I met the Cullens and threatened them. I excitedly flipped the page, ready to read whatever was on the next page, only to find it empty.

"No," I whispered. "No, no, no, no. Dammit!" I yelled, throwing it at the wall. I let my head fall into my hands, frustrated. My breathing started to get heavy and the wind started to blow. I raised my head to find myself surrounded by a dark cloud of shadows. "I don't want to forget you, Nico. You are the one person I've always had. I-I need you."

Everything became silent as I heard a knock on the door. I got up slowly and opened it to find Harry who looked exhausted, in pain, tortured. "Yes?" I asked him.

"Uh, I heard a loud bang, wanted to check to make sure everything was okay," he told me.

"Everything's fine," I assured him. "You should be focused on the Weasley's. It's hard to almost lose a family member."

"Yeah, I know, both my parents are dead," he reminded me.

I rolled my eyes slightly, "But do you remember them?" I asked him and he shook his head. "Then you have the what if's. What if they raised me, what would they be like, what would I be like? We have to remember what life was like with them. Waking up thinking that we'll be able to give them a hug before school. Wake up to the smell of breakfast, come home to a bright smile, only to remember that will never happen again."

He looked down, "Yeah, I guess it is different."

"I don't mean to kick you when you're down, it just is different and they don't need someone to relate to them right now, they just need someone to be there while they cry, to distract them from what's happening," I told him.

"Why don't you help me?" He asked.

I laughed then looked at him, "I'm not the comforting type, sorry."

"Well, Mrs. Weasley's here," he said. "She came in earlier, said we could see him later today. Do you want to come with me?"

"I have to keep you safe, remember? Of course I'm coming," I laughed.

"Breakfast will be ready soon," he called before we parted with me shutting the door and him walking back down the stairs. I have a feeling that something will change with my quest when I no longer know why I'm here.

I went back over to the book and picked it up. I flipped back to the last page and noticed it starting to change. In it were entries I couldn't remember. Stuff with the Zabini family, with Blaize and Camilla. It was my handwriting, but I had never written it.