It's official Nico hated demigod dreams. He was hoping for a peaceful night. At least he was pulled from what could have turned into a very bad nightmare. 

Circe stood facing a bald man with snake-like eyes, but despite his appearance, it was clear that she held the power. A thoughtful look was on her face as she contemplated something. 

"You have agents within the Ministry, no?" she asked. 

"I do, my lady," Voldemort replied (At least that's how Percy had described him so that's who Nico assumed he was). 

"Good. It would be a shame if something happened to the Minister and one of your agents took up the position." 

"Perhaps we don't have to go that far. An Imperius Curse combined with your magic should hold him under our command." 

"But it's been so long since I had a pet. I'm sure he would make a fine one. He's certainly pig-headed enough." A smirk crossed Circe's lips as she played with a strand of magic, that gleamed dangerously in the dim light of the room. "Plus, it's more permanent than that attempt at mind control. Eidolons do it so much better. Charmspeak is the only known way to kick them out of a host. That curse you talk about, if I remember right, can be beaten off by simply a strong will." 

Nico did not like the look that crossed the goddess's face or the implications of Circe's words. As a silence fell over the room for a minute Nico took the chance to look around. It was a sparsely furnished room the only light coming from a blazing fire that cast both light and shadows. The floor was made of deep brown wood with a dark emerald green carpet laid over it. On top of it was a simple armchair with a table. Circe and Voldemort stood parallel to the chair but just in front of the fire. 

"But with your contribution, it would be stronger than ever. You are a strong and powerful sorceress, my lady. It would take much more than a simple strong will to break through it. Perhaps something that not even Dumbledore would be able to break," Voldemort said eventually, choosing his words carefully. 

Circe considered what he said. "Fine. It would be less noticeable. Prepare the spell. I will contribute to the spell when the time comes. You better be telling the truth that it will not be as easily broken..." The threat was left unsaid, but clearly there. 

Nico was back in his bed as the dream drew to a close and buried his face in his pillow trying not to dwell on what was happening soon. Even though the government was clearly corrupt and Nico knew that from Harry's hearing. Where he had been accused despite the circumstances around both the first and second instances. Honesty, who doesn't look deep enough to realize that the second instance was performed under life-or-death circumstances? 

~~~

Percy was pulled from a nightmare. 

Annabeth's pleas as he controlled the poison around Akhlys and almost killed her with her poison. The arai as curse upon curse was laid on him as more were struck down. He watched Bob and Damesan sacrifice themselves for Percy and Annabeth so they could escape. He felt the guilt that came with Annabeth's pleas and Bob and Damesan's deaths. He felt fear and helplessness as they tried to survive but killing the arai before the monsters killed them only made it harder due to the curses. 

Percy was pulled from his nightmare into another dream. This was different and arguably better than his previous dream (though not by much). 

The room was lavishly decorated, looking to be more of a living area than anything else. Green and silver were dotted around the room. On one wall was a Slytherin banner. In the middle of the room, people were sitting around a table, one man older than the rest had his feet propped up on a velvet pouffe. He held a glass of wine in one hand as he rummaged through a box with the other. 

The man though rather unimpressive had thick straw-colored hair and a large gingery-blond mustache. He wore robes that were almost as fancy as the room. Percy looked at the boys surrounding the elder man, one in particular caught his eye. The boy was tall with dark hair and eyes. A gold and black ring bearing a crest, it was hard to make out considering the crest was engraved into a black stone. 

The man looked up as the boy Percy had been studying asked a question. 

"Sir, is it true that Professor Merrythought is retiring?" he asked. 

The man wagged a finger at him, but winked at the same time -Percy was getting mixed signals from him, honestly- and said, "Tom, Tom, if I knew I couldn't tell you." After a second he added, "I must say, I'd like to know where you get your information, boy, more knowledgeable than half the staff, you are." 

The boy now identified as Tom smiled while the other boys laughed and looked at him admireably. Percy recognized the look it was the look many of the younger half-bloods gave him before they learned that he was just as human as the rest of them despite his power. It was a look of hero worship, someone not quite a legend, but seen as unreachable all the same. 

The man spoke again breaking the silence by saying, "What with your uncanny ability to know things you shouldn't and your careful flattery of those who matter -thank you for the pineapple, by the way, you're quite right, it is my favorite -" the image had seemed to close in on the two males as they conversed every other sound fading into background noise "-I confidently expect you to rise to Minister of Magic within twenty years. Fifteen, if you keep sending me pineapple, I have excellent contacts at the Ministry." 

Tom laughed before replying, "I don't know that politics would suit me, sir. I don't have the right kind of background, for one thing." 

"Nonsense," the man told him, waving a hand in a dismissive gesture. "Couldn't be plainer you come from decent Wizarding Stock, abilities like yours. No you'll go far, Tom, I've never been wrong about a student yet." 

Percy's attention was drawn to the clock that suddenly came into focus when it chimed eleven times signifying that the time had just hit eleven o'clock. 

"Good gracious, is it that time already?" asked the man as he looked at the clock. "You'd better get going boys, or we'll all be in trouble. Lestrange, I want your essay by tomorrow or it's detention. Same goes for you Avery." the teacher had pointed at two boys as they filed out and the dream focused back on the two previous members. "Look sharp, Tom you don't want to be caught out of bed out of hours, and you a prefect..." 

"Sir, I wanted to ask you something." 

"Ask away, then, m'boy ask away." 

"Sir, I wondered what you knew about...about Horcruxes."  The elder stared at the teen's question even as his fingers caressed the stem of his wine glass, as Percy had seen Mr. D many times when he missed his wine and decided to pour Diet Coke into a wine glass and pretend it was wine it made him less grumpy for a while but not by much.

"Project for Defense Against the Dark Arts, is it?" 

"Not exactly, sir. I came across the term while reading and I didn't fully understand it." Percy could tell the black-haired teen was almost lying. The demigod would give him credit where credit was due he was a good manipulator and even seemed to add a thin layer of magic to his words to convince his teacher he was sincere. "But you obviously know all about them, sir?  I mean, a wizard like you -sorry, I mean, if you can't tell me, obviously - I just knew if anyone could tell me, you could- so I'd just thought I'd ask." 

Tom's words were casual and filled with flattery that broke down the teacher into telling him the information he wanted. 

"Well," the teacher said fiddling with the ribbon on his box of crystalized pineapple, "well, it can't hurt to give you an overview, of course. Just so you understand the term. A Horcrux is the word used for an object in which a person has concealed part of their soul." 

Percy took note of his words and added a mental note to ask Nico if he knew anything about these Horcruxes. 

"I don't quite understand how that works, though sir." 

"Well you split you're soul, you see and hide part of it in an object outside of the body. Then, even if one's body is attacked or destroyed, one cannot die, for part of the soul remains earthbound and undamaged. But of course, existence in such a form..." The professor trails off before finishing with, "...few would want it, Tom, very few. Death would be preferable." 

Percy was pulled out of the dream as Tom opened his mouth to prompt more. Percy woke up his eyes opening as he gasped for a breath. He reviewed what he had seen. Something seemed familiar about Tom. It became intimately clear when Percy brought the teen's face to the forefront of his mind. He looked like Percy's mom. More accurately Sally looked like him it was subtle similarities, but they were there. 

"Oh gods," Percy breathed.

~~~

Thalia did not like the look of her surroundings. They were dark, there was nothing she could immediately make out. 

"Tell me where the Elder Wand is," demanded a voice.

"I don't know," another one said this one filled with fear. 

"You must." 

"I promise you I don't." 

"I have spared you this long and you refuse to cooperate." 

"I don't know where it is." 

"Fine then. Avada Kedavra." A streak of green light was the last and only thing Thalia saw.

Demigods do change some things this time around. We'll get there when we get there. Also is this finally *gasp* plot? I really need to work out whatever I'm doing here but I'm just going with the flow at the moment. May time skip a bit to Christmas. Maybe have a ball or something and get some Solangelo and Percebeth action. Nothing too romantic though because I can't seem to write romance to save my life. Percy's dream isn't mine just in case you were wondering. Edited version of Slughorn's original memory in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

-Scarlett