Nico di angelo at Hogwarts

[7] They Meet At Last

The moment the boy asked the question, Harry instantly relaxed. At least they weren't part of his so-called fan club. He could see that Ron was bursting to make some comment on their inability to recognize The Harry Potter,  but thankfully Hermione put an end to that by successfully jabbing her elbow into his side.

Too bad the kids in the compartment weren't blind.

The blondie widened his eyes but, luckily, didn't say anything. The ravenette, however, blinked a couple of times and, in a very straightforward tone, questioned this action which, under different circumstances would have called the Aurors onto the scene for spousal abuse.

"Why did you hit him ?"

Hermione flushed with embarrassment as the blonde-haired boy made a sort of annoyed sound in his throat and admonished the other boy.

"Nico ! You can't just ask someone that !"

"Why not ?" The boy, Nico, argued back. "It's not like she was being subtle about it."

"Still, you can't just-" he cut off and sighed. "We really need to talk about your people skills."

Then, turning to face the four additions to the compartment,he spoke.

"Sorry about that. Please, take a seat."

After doing so they proceeded to introduce themselves. At the mention of Harry's name the two boys, Will and Nico, exchanged a glance, but didn't say anything and the rest went without a hitch. Free of the formal pleasantries shared by travelling companions, they soon settled in for the long ride to the school.

Hermione disappeared behind some book but was soon coaxed out into a conversation with Ginny about the various kinds of Flying Charms used on brooms. That left the four boys to stare at each other awkwardly. Just as Will was about to open his mouth to break the tension and Nico was having an internal debate on going back to his nap, the compartment door slid open and the woman with the food trolley peeked in.

"Anything off the trolley, dears ?"

The girls politely declined while Harry got up to buy a few sweets for himself and Ron. Realising that he should probably offer to buy them some as well, he turned around, only to find the blonde boy - Will - right behind him.

"Hi," Will said. "Any idea what we should get ?"

"Well, the Every Flavour Beans are quite interesting, the Chocolate Frogs are my personal favourite, while the Pumpkin Pasties are really good. But, to tell the truth, all of them are pretty good."

Will seemed to have some kind of short, internal debate with himself before turning to the witch.

"I'll have two of each, thank you."

Then, turning back to Harry, he added with a grin, "Best to try out everything, right ?"

Harry smiled back at him as he nodded his head in agreement. He really liked this boy with his big smiles and cheerful attitude. Though he should probably wait a while before passing any kind of judgement. Merlin knows he has made plenty of bad decisions in the past, most of them centered around a certain blonde Slytherin.

When they returned to the compartment, the witches were still in a passionate discussion with the boys looking bored and awkward. They sat down and dumped the sweets on the pull-out table in front of them. Will looked around the compartment with a slight frown which switched into a broad grin.

"Hey guys !"he beamed, effectively pausing the conversationalists. "I was thinking that we could get to know each other. Maybe share our food to begin with ?"

He paused, looking a bit nervous. What if they thought it was weird ? He had no idea how things were done in England !

Thankfully, Hermione caught on to the offer with interest and immediately accepted for all of them, leaving them with no option other than to join in a chorus of agreement. They reallly had been looking forward to talk with the new students, but hadn't been sure how to go about it.

Soon, they were all sharing sweets and having a good time, talking and exchanging stories.

"So, are you guys American ?" Ron asked them while unwrapping a licorice wand.

"Yeah." Will replied. "Well, biologically, we are half Greek, and Nico is half Italian, but, yes. We are American. Why do you ask ?"

"Oh, nothing. One of our friends mentioned something about American transfer students, and you guys didn't seem British. So I just wondered."

"It's okay." Will laughed and waved it off.

"Are you two dating ?" Ginny suddenly blurted out. As soon as the words left her mouth, she clapped both hands over it, eyes widening. The Americans' eyes widened as well and they shifted a bit.

"Oh Merlin, I'm so sorry !" Ginny rushed out. "I don't know what came over me ! It's just that you two seem close, and Nico had his head on your lap, and I just thought- Gosh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to accuse you of being gay, not that being gay is a problem, I'm gay myself, and so is Harry ! Oh shit ! I wasn't supposed to say that ! I-"

She probably would have gone rambling on, while all of them sat frozen, if Nico hadn't slapped his hand over her mouth.

"Calm down." He said in an expressionless voice, his face devoid of any emotion.

"It's okay. We're not offended. And yes, we are dating. Now calm down and stay that way."

He removed his hand from her mouth and sat back down on his seat.

The rest of the journey passed without incident. The wizards and witches wondered about the cut-off personality of Nico and Will's cheerfulness, but dismissed it as their character.

As the train drew closer to their destination, the students donned their robes and stepped out. They went to meet Hagrid and promised to introduce him and the newcomers at a later date.

They went to the carriages pulled by the thestrals who immediately seemed to take a liking to Nico. Harry made a mental note to introduce him to Luna later.

The six of them were able to secure an empty carriage and settled in.

As they rode past the huge gates and drew to a stop in front of the castle, Harry felt as if he had finally come back home.

The Weasley home may be friendly and he may be the owner of Grimmauld Place, but no place had had such a strong connection to his parents. This was where they'd met, spent seven years, and this was where they had fell in love. Harry felt truly fortunate to spend a last year at this wonderful and magical place. And maybe, just maybe, he would be able to have peaceful and normal year at Hogwarts.

But then again, things involving Harry Potter had never been any of that.