Nico di Angelo and the Order of the Phoenix

Chapter 4: Memories

Will felt a blur of darkness rush by, a swoosh of air. Eventually, he had the feeling that he had been dropped at the bottom of a long tunnel. He managed to retain his footing, but stumbled slightly.

Harry landed next to him, falling to his knees. Will lifted him up by his forearm. If Will hadn't been so distracted about searching for Nico, he might've noticed how light Harry was. He might've noticed how unhealthily thin the boy was. He might've noticed how Harry had winced slightly when he pulled him up, how his face turned to a nasty shade of gray.

Harry released Will as quickly as possible. "We'll arrive soon."

"Do we need to hide?" Will asked. He didn't know if they would affect the memory.

Harry shook his head. "No, it's a memory. It has already happened. We won't be noticed."

Will was relieved. He didn't know how a Pensieve worked exactly, so he had been dreading the idea of having to hide. Then again, he was dreading the idea of having to watch Nico die.

A swirl of motion had them both turning their heads to see Past-Harry and Nico arrive, clutching the Triwizard Cup. Past-Harry fell, his ankle breaking immediately. Will winced. That must have really hurt.

Nico was standing, his Stygian Iron sword drawn. He looked wary, almost afraid. Will was so happy to see him, to know that he had been alive. But the happiness brought along another round of sorrow-he knew he would never see Nico again. But he could at least figure out how he had died. After all, Nico was not easy to kill, however many times it had appeared he had gotten close to death.

Past-Harry rose, glancing around. "Someone's coming," he said, but Nico already knew.

Will squinted to see a figure ominously walking towards them. Will couldn't tell who or what it was, but from the way Harry flinched, he knew. This was Voldemort, or a servant of Voldemort.

"What is it?" Past-Harry asked, a note of worry in his voice.

Nico seemed to be struggling on what to say. "I created those shadows. Who could have gained control of them?"

Past-Harry glanced at Nico in horror. "Voldemort."

Nico shuddered, Will wincing with him. The name itself sent a shiver down his spine.

Suddenly, Past-Harry dropped to the ground, writhing in agony.

Nico started yelling. "Harry! HARRY!"

The shadows around Voldemort swamped Nico and Will took a step forward, knowing full well that he couldn't do anything, but desperately wanting to help. His boyfriend was in danger, he was hurting-Nico-

Voldemort's voice rang out from where the bundle of blankets was lying. "Kill the spare."

The shadows had dissipated, but Nico had clearly fought hard to win control, and he was breathing heavily, leaning on his sword to stand up. He didn't look good-a shade of gray was crossing his face.

A bolt of green light came out of the servant's wand and hit Nico in the chest. Nico fell, his eyes open in horror. Will covered a sob and looked at Present-Harry. Harry was looking worse than Nico. Revisiting the memory had opened a path in his mind that he never wanted to go down again.

Past-Harry screamed, but managed to open his eyes.

Past-Harry was then pulled roughly to his feet and tied to a marble headstone. Will had to resist the urge to cut him free, repeatedly telling himself that he could nothing-he was a memory-he had no tangible form-

Will didn't notice Present-Harry walking away.

Will ran to Nico, kneeling next to him. He pressed his hand to Nico's chest, hoping to hear something, something.

There was nothing. No heartbeat.

A sob racked Will again, but he refused to move. He held onto Nico, knowing that Nico couldn't feel him, but it comforted Will the slightest bit.

Will tried to ignore the scream that were going on in the background. Harry's screams. He had to make sure many times that it was Past-Harry, and not Present-Harry.

Will shakily rose, and walked over to Present-Harry. "Are you okay?" He felt terrible-he'd been completely neglecting the boy since the start, so desperate to find Nico.

Harry nodded, swallowing. "It's just hard, reliving this."

Will felt even worse. He'd basically forced Harry to show him his memory, with no regard for how it would affect Harry himself.

Harry looked down at the ground. "I'm going to skip this."

The scenery began to blur around them, tombstones vanishing, people appearing, a duel beginning. Flashes of lights formed, a golden globe rising. Will didn't question it-he knew what was going on. Harry was speeding up his memory, almost like fast-forwarding. Simply because it had been too hard for him to remember it all again.

Ghostly figures emerged, and then the connection that Past-Harry and Voldemort had had vanished, the ghosts rushing Voldemort. Harry grabbed the Triwizard Cup, looking around desperately for Nico, but Nico was nowhere in sight and Will felt his heart drop.

The Triwizard Cup slammed into Past-Harry's hand and he vanished.

Voldemort let out a scream of rage, but swished his wand, unveiling a cloaking spell. He had been hiding Nico. But there was no reason to hide Nico if he was dead.

Nico hadn't been dead when the Killing Curse hit him. Will didn't know how or why, but the overwhelming feeling of relief was enough.

Harry grabbed onto Will's arm. "I'm sorry-I didn't know where he was-"

Will nodded. "It's okay. You're not dead, you had to make sure you got out of there alive. I don't blame you. Nico would've helped you anyway."

Voldemort was lifting Nico up, grabbing hold of his wrist. The Dark Lord turned to look at all his Death Eaters. "We depart now. I trust you all remember how to get to our previous location?"

Will was immediately frustrated when he didn't say the place. It would've made it much easier, know where Nico was to track him down. But now he had a lead-and hope.

Voldemort and the Death Eaters vanished in swirls of darkness, Nico disappearing with them.

The colours around Harry and Will whirled, spinning them upward. They landed again in Dumbledore's office. The man himself was standing there as well.

"I see you have used my Pensieve. Will, my boy, you seem like you know something. Would either of you inform me?"