Nico di Angelo and the Goblet of Fire

Chapter 3: The Transfer

Harry was looking at the Monday column on his schedule.

Ron was muttering around a bite of toast. "Outside all morning, Herbology with Hufflepuff, Care of Magical Creatures-phooey, we're still with Slytherin. Then double Divination."

Harry groaned at that. He hated Divination, what with Professor Trelawney always predicting his death.

Nico had just walked in with his tie crooked. "What's Divination?"

Ron gaped at him. "Didn't you have it?"

Nico looked surprised, but quickly covered it up. "No...we focused on...different things."

Harry looked at him enviously.

Hermione noted that, reaching over to straighten Nico's tie. "A worthless subject. Those two should've dropped it."

"Great. Looking forward to it," Nico said bitterly.

Harry laughed, then noticed Hermione was putting jam on her toast. "Eating again?"

She flushed. "I've decided I can support elves in a different way."

Ron grinned. "And you were hungry."

Hermione stuck her tongue out at him.

They finished breakfast and walked to the greenhouse, where they met Professor Sprout. She was showing the class a very ugly plant. It looked like a black slug with swellings full of liquid.

"These are called Bubotubers. You will squeeze to collect the pus." Harry's eyebrows shot up, and he wasn't the only one.

"Wear your dragon-hide gloves, and do not spill. The pus is very valuable and you must not waste it." Professor Sprout continued.

It was disgusting work, but also oddly satisfying. Harry noticed Nico taking great pleasure in stabbing the swellings with a knife that was an oddly dark colour. They collected the pus in bottles Professor Sprout had given them, which she would later give to the school nurse, Madam Pomfrey.

A bell tolled, signaling the end of the lesson. The Gryffindors made their way to Hagrid's hut for Care of Magical Creatures.

Hagrid was standing outside the hut, looking very pleased with himself. "Blast-Ended Skrewts!" He exclaimed proudly, pointing to what looked like a deformed lobster. It had legs sticking it everywhere, and no head that Harry could see. They smelled quite strongly of fish, and every few minutes a spark would blast its way out of the Skrewt.

"On'y jus' hatched," continued Hagrid, "so yeh'll be able ter raise 'em yerselves! Thought we'd make a bit of a project out of it?"

Harry stared at them, dumbfounded, until a cold voice sneered something. "And why would we want to raise them?"

Harry turned around to see Draco Malfoy with his mouth curled up in a look of disapproval.

Hagrid opened his mouth, clearly thinking very hard. "N'ver min' that now. Tha's next lesson. Now, today, yer jus' feedin' 'em, try the foods out." He swung his arms wildly, guestering to strange foods. Harry though one of them was a liver. He was going to be sick.

Nico was smiling, though, and was the first to walk over to the Skrewts. He picked up a piece of snake, and fed it to the Skrewt. The thing chewed it slowly, clearly content.

Nico's success urged the rest of the class to try. At least until Lavender Brown yelped, showing Hagrid a burn. "Eurgh! Hagrid, what's the pointy thing on it?"

"Ah, some of 'em have got stingers," Hagrid said enthusiastically. "I reckon they're the males...The females've got sorta sucker things on their bellies...I think they might be ter suck blood."

"Well, I can certainly see why we would want to keep them all alive," Malfoy said sarcastically, "who wouldn't want a pet that can burn, sting, and bite all at once?"

"Just because they're not very pretty, it doesn't mean they're not useful," snapped Hermione. "Dragon's bloods amazingly magical, but you wouldn't want a dragon for a pet, would you?"

Harry and Ron grinned at Hagrid, who gave them a furtive smile. Hagrid always wanted a dragon.

Nico was analyzing the exchange. "Hagrid's had a dragon?" He whispered in Harry's ear.

Harry felt his smile sliding off. How did Nico know? "No, of course not," he said hurriedly.

At the end of class, Nico, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were walking up to the castle.

They sat down for lunch, and Hermione began shoveling her face full of food. Seconds later, she was finished, jumping up and grabbing her back.

"Whoa, what?" Ron asked. "Is this eating speed helping the house elves?"

"Never mind, I'm going to the library!" Hermione called over her shoulder, already heading out of the Great Hall.

Ron looked at Harry, bemused. "Anyways, Nico-" he turned to talk to Nico, but he wasn't there. Harry caught a glimpse of the dark-haired boy exiting the Great Hall.

Ron shook his head. "I'm surrounded by nerds."

Harry grinned. "You've got me."

Ron smiled. "True."

They finished lunch and headed on up to Divination. Harry and Ron took seats on the chair wit pillows, saving a spot at their table for Nico.

Nico burst into the room about three seconds before the lesson started. What was with him? He hadn't really struck Harry as a Hermione sort of person.

Professor Trelawney started speaking, her voice droning on and on. Harry tuned her out, but Nico was paying close attention, the only one to do so, besides Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown.

The lesson proceeded with them trying to fill in the position of the planets on the day of their birth. It was dull work, requiring much calculation.

"I've got two Neptunes," Harry said drowsily, frowning at his parchment. "What does that mean?"

"It means," Ron said, with an air of great importance, "that a speckled git had been born."

Harry rolled his eyes.

The lesson finished, and the trio made their way down to dinner.

The one eventful thing that happened was Malfoy getting turned into a ferret by Mad-Eye Moody. The entire Gryffindor table was still roaring with laughter by the time Dumbledore sent them to bed.

Ron had his eyes closed, fixating the image in his mind as they made their way up to the Gryffindor common room.

Harry was still snickering when they went to bed.