When Nico's not at camp (book the first)

Hermione

I'm so nervous for flying lessons. I've read absolutely everything I can on the subject but its really something that can only be mastered through practice. It's unnatural. Any activity that can't be learned from a book is not meant to be done by humans. These thoughts have me pacing the common room for better than an hour. Then a though occurs to me. "Hey Nico?" He looks up from his history of magic essay. Not that he needs to do any homework for that class. Professor Binns absolutely adores him. I curse to my self. Focus Hermione. Your Attention is almost as bad as Nicos. "So", I ask. "Why are you exempt from flying lessons?" "Oh", he responds and returns his attention to his essay. "My father arranged it with Dumbledore. It's not safe for me to fly" I raise an eyebrow. "Uhm, I've got an inner ear thing. Ill lose balance and fall off the broom", he adds frantically. I don't totally believe him but I don't have any reason to believe he would lie about something like that. Then Neville joins the conversation. "Damn. I should have gotten my gran to excuse me. I hurt myself putting on my PJs last night. I just know I'll get killed on a broom."

"So what are you gonna do for the hour?' Harry asks. Nico frowns. "What hour?" Ron rolls his eyes. "The hour that the rest of us first years are learning to fly", he says with exasperation. "Oh, I'm exempt, my father arranged it for me." I sigh. "Yes nico, we just discussed that. Ron is wondering what you will do instead." He looks up from his essay with a blank look in his eyes. Then he focuses. "Oh. I'll probably just stay in the common room and work on this essay." That poor kid. Between his ADHD and dyslexia its a minor miracle that he can learn anything. But he's neck and neck with me for top of the class.

Flying lessons were an unmitigated disaster. First the broom refused to rise for me. Then Neville flew uncontrollably into the air and fell off his broom from fifty feet. He was wrong about dying. He only shattered his arm. But then Harry decided to have a mid air pissing match with Draco Malloy. Then Draco challenged Harry to a duel and Harry, for reasons I can only imagine are completely ridiculous, accepted. Then Professor McGonnogall showed up and took Harry away. I imagine in order to give him detention for the remainder of his natural born life. That was the chain of events that led Ron and I to walk back into the Gryffindor common room and find Nico asleep in his chair, with his cat asleep on his face and his homework on his lap. "Aww, he's adorable." Ron, very maturely, makes an accentuated gagging noise. "Why don't' you two just get a room?" My face turns tomato red. I open my mouth to scream at Ron not to be so childish but before I have the chance, the portrait opens again and Harry walks in smiling from ear to ear.

"You wont believe it you guys!" Harry exclaims. "McGonnogall saw me catch that rememberall and she recruited me to join the House qudditch team. I'm gonna be Gryffindor's new seeker! She's going to get me a decent broom and everything!" I frown. "That doesn't sound like a very good punishment. Are you sure you heard her correctly?" Harry smiles even wider. "That's what I thought at first. But McGonnogall said she was so sick of Snape's smug attitude that she would overlook my unauthorized flight if I joined the house team." Ron bounces on his heels excitedly. "Wow Harry. You'll be the youngest seeker in a century", He exclaims." "Yes",  interject. Too bad it will never happen. McGonnogal wont be willing to overlook your sneaking out and Dueling with Malfoy, and she will have to punish you. Unless you come to your sense and decide not to go through with it." To my annoyance Ron ignores my warning and continues bubbling with excitement like a little girl. "Oh wow, we need to celebrate.

Hey Nico get up Harahhhhh!" As soon as Ron touched Nicos shoulder there was a flurry of movement. Red hair, olive skin, black cat. The shadows all around the room drew in closer and seemed to grow more menacing. With a scream and a shriek Ron was on His back and Nico was on top of home. In his left hand he had his wand pointed at Ron's head. In his right hand he had a six inch silver hunting  knife pressed against Rons throat. And on his face, a look of absolute murder.Ajax shrieks and all his fur stands on end. Ron, Harry and I all freeze in shock. Then Nico recognizes Ron and his expression changes from rage to surprise. "Oh, hey Ron, uhm, sorry. You Uhm, startled me." He stands up and his knife vanishes in a flash of silver light and he slips his wand into his pocket. He holds out his hand to help Ron up. Ron lays on his back and stares at Nico with a look of utter astonishment. "Startled you! I startled you so you decided to decapitate me? Are you a bloody lunatic?" He grabs Nico's hand and Nico pulls him to his feet then goes back and sits in his chair. Ajax jumps onto his lap and purs. Nico ignores Ron's questions and starts fidgeting with his skull ring. "So, what did you guys want to talk about?" Nico barely pays any attention at all as Ron and Harry describe the flying lesson the duel challenge, and harry joining the quidditch team. "Hermione thinks I shouldn't go to the duel", Harry explains. "What do you think?" Nico doesn't seem to hear the question. His eyes are a million miles away in thought. "Nico", Ron prompts. Nico snaps back to attention. "Huh? Oh yeah that's definitely a trap. You'll get there and Malfoy wont be there. Instead you'll find filch or a teacher waiting to bust you." Ron Frowns. "What makes you think that?" Nico just shrugs. "That's what I would do."

"Uhm Nico", I ask gently. "Are you okay?" He looks up. "Oh. Yeah I'm fine. I just, uhm, had kind of a weird dream." He pauses here to think. "Hey, the fat friar gave me the password to the prefects bathroom so i think I'm gonna go soak for a while." He gets up and starts walking towards the portrait hole. I in typical superior goody two shoes fashion, can't help but say something. "You know you shouldn't be carrying a knife. It's totally against the rules. You could get detention for the remainder of the term if a teacher finds out." He turns around and I expect him to be annoyed or angry. But instead his eyes are holding back tears and I find my self looking at the anguished, tormented, broken shell of Nico Di Angelo. "The knife belonged to my sister." He says simply. "She died." Then he closed the portrait hole behind him.