I get sappy
NICO: I was expecting the worst when Hera began to restore my memories. However, I should have expected worse than the worst. Nothing could have prepared me for the hell that I had endured. Having to remember it was like going through it all over again.
Losing Bianca, going to Tartarus, and almost losing myself in the process.
But as my mind began to travel through a darkness, a light appeared.
I watched as little by little, my circle of trust began to expand. Jason Grace, I had trusted with my biggest secret. Reyna had given me a second home. They had both made me feel something I had craved for a long time: acceptance.
While my life had some bumps along the long, winding road that it was, there were also some paths that went uphill. Those paths were the people around me, who, memory or not, would accept me no matter what.
Percy was like my older brother now. He had looked out for me from the very beginning, even when I had lost my trust in him, he was patient with me and didn't force me to find that trust. Even when seeing me at my most vulnerable, Percy still didn't judge me. He knew me. He understood me. He didn't hold a grudge.
Annabeth, my older sister. She had never doubted me. She'd always managed to see some sort of light in me. Upon finding out about my previous crush on her boyfriend, she didn't even blink. She didn't even mind. She, like Percy, understood me.
Jason was the first I had let in my circle. He was like the parent I'd never had. He had picked me up when I was at my worse and had encouraged me to carry on. I was forever in debt to him because of that.
Hazel was my sister. Sure, she wasn't Bianca. Maybe I resented her at first because of that. But Hazel was what I needed. She was honest. She kept me humble. We looked out for each other. She taught me that children of Pluto and Hades are allowed to find happiness...
Piper, Frank, and Leo, I may not have known as long. But still, like the others, they seemed to know me more than I knew myself. They saw me as who I was, rather than what a child of Hades should be.
Will was an annoyance. Still, I suppose he was my annoyance. It had taken him weeks after the war to admit his crush on me. On the night of our very first kiss at the canoe lake, we were sent here by Hera only a few minutes later. I wondered if when Hera sent us back, whether or not we would be in that very spot. Maybe Will and I were still getting to know each other, maybe I wasn't sure what he was to me, whether it be a relationship or a complication. But I knew he'd be there for me. If he could still look at me after going through all of this, I guess he was a keeper.
They were my family and they were standing before me.
It was obvious the others were expecting me to have some grand reaction upon having received my past memories. Jason stared at me with puppy-dog eyes, looking like he wanted me to fall into his arms and hug him. Piper, Frank, and Hazel smiled warmly, welcoming me back. Leo shrugged, as if saying, 'gods suck, we don't, c'mere man.' Will's expression looked like the focused look he got before he was about I heal somebody. I couldn't help but chuckle at that.
"He's smiling," Leo observed. "Hera, you messed up somewhere with the memory restoration. That's not our Nico."
"Leo's still annoying as always," I mumbled. "Great."
"False alarm," Jason announced. "That's our grumpy Nico. Come here, man."
"I'm not hugging you in front of everybody. They'll use it against me."
"Nico, if you may recall, we aren't going to remember any of this Hogwarts adventure in a bit. You can hug everybody you want." Leo opened his arms beside Jason.
"Come on, my arms are getting tired." Jason said. Him and Leo stared at me, expecting me to run into their arms...no, they weren't expecting me to do it. They knew me.
"Maybe later." I suggested. Their hands fell in disappointment.
I faced Harry who was watching me with interest.
"How curious I am to find out what the real Nico Di Angelo is like!" Harry teased. I rolled my eyes and approached him.
"I promise you," I pulled Harry into a hug. "He isn't like this."
"No fair!" Jason complained. "No hug for me?"
"A hug from me is a special occurrence. Doing it when you expect it makes the hug lose its special effect." I released Harry and he clapped me on the back.
"What was that special occurrence then?" Harry asked. I shrugged.
"For trusting me when none of your friends did—no offense, Ron and Hermione."
They both shrugged.
"Hey, we're all friends now. That's all that matters." Ron said.
"It's also for, well, just being a good friend—I guess. And because your life sucks pretty hardcore." I finished.
"Yeah, that pretty much sums it up." Harry pushed me towards the others.
"But I don't matter now, go on and catch up with your friends!"
"My family," I corrected, only so I could hear. Though, I believe Hades heard. He smiled to himself at that comment.
"So rarely are my children happy," he repeated his earlier statement. "I'm glad you and Hazel can be an exception."
"I wouldn't go as far as to classify myself as happy, more as...content."
"Same thing!" Jason exclaimed. "But hey, I'll take it."
Jason patted me on the shoulder. Leo ruffled my hair as a brother would do. Will stood awkwardly in the corner, probably debating whether or not to say something. Like I said, an annoyance...but I could tolerate him.
I could tolerate them all.