➣ 𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝟓 “𝙋𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙘 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙂𝙪𝙞𝙡𝙩”
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“Nico, Nico, Nico,” the voice insisted. It was such a lovely voice, even if it was tinged in foul shades of desperation. But his eyes remained pressed closed, he wasn't even aware of how much effort he made in doing so.
His breathing was erratic, coming in sharp inhales but unable to actually settle on his lungs, and his hands were gripping and squeezing his knees rather harshly, his nails trying to find something to ground him.
He kept shaking his head, left and right, sharp moves, but he wasn't really sure of what he was trying to convey. The whole world felt like it had lost its course over its own axis.
‘It’s fake. What I saw is fake. They’re alive and fine. They're breathing and safe,’ he kept trying to think that, but every thought that was meant to be reassuring turned into a hurricane of dismay and agitation.
The coldness of the wall against his back was probably the only thing preventing him from dissolving into thin air.
Two big and warm hands grabbed his—still gripping to his knees for dear life—, removing them, and preventing him from harming himself. When his hands fell limp to his sides, the warm ones cupped his soaked cheeks, lovingly forcing his face from his knees. The tender thumbs trying to clean out his tears, prompted him to open his eyes, looking right into the most exquisite pools of honey. Just this time, they were hued by the awful shadow of worry.
“Are you with me?” Cedric finally asked, as calm and soft as always. Nicolás nodded, not trusting his voice. “I need you to speak for me,” Cedric insisted. And Nicolás would be damned if he let him down.
“Yes,” he croaked.
“That’s good,” Cedric whispered. “Can you tell me five things you can hear?” he asked, the words coming slow, allowing them to pierce Nicolás’ fogged mind, one by one, and his hands kept the warmth on his cheeks.
Nicolás nodded, looking around erratically; he started taking deep but still short breaths. “You,” he began. Cedric nodded, smiling at him in encouragement. “The... floor… the wall… that... door… the ceiling,” he finished, taking in big gulps of air.
“Perfect, great,” Cedric said, smiling. He rubbed Nicolás’ cheeks with his thumbs. “Can you tell me four things you can hear?”
“You — your voice… the wind…” someone opened a door down the aisle. “The door… someone... someone’s coming…”
“It’s okay, it’s okay, Darling,” Cedric tried to reassure him. The steps seemed to grow closer before they stopped, but Cedric’s honeyed eyes never stopped sweetening him. “Can you tell me three things you can touch?”
Nicolás nodded. “You… the floor… the wall,” his breathing was a little less labored, and his thoughts, previously in the biggest traffic accident known to humankind, were finally starting to circulate in order.
“That's perfect, Darling, you’re doing great,” said Cedric, his pearly smile not faltering for a second. “Can you smell anything?” he asked. Nicolás shook his head. “Okay, that’s okay. How about this? he said, moving his hands for a moment, allowing the coldness of the morning to hit Nicolás’ face.
Cedric searched for something in his robes, before looking back at Nicolás. “Do you trust me?” he asked, and Nicolás didn’t need a single second before nodding. With a smile, Cedric brought his hand to Nicolás’ lips, pressing something inside.
“What does it taste like?” Cedric asked.
The sweetness exploded in his mouth. After a numbing experience, his taste buds flourished in the taste of chocolate. And the flavor brought him back to his childhood, to sitting on the couch, pressed against the welcoming warmth of his father’s body, which always seemed to be overly warm and overly comfortable, and so welcoming.
After a second of it, Nicolás finally felt like he had recovered his ability to function. Leaning back his head, and pressing it against the wall, he took a deep breath, followed by a long exhale.
“Hello, there, Darling. Welcome back,” said Cedric, giving him that smile, the one that never failed to awaken the dragons in his stomach, making them go erratic in their excitement.
He could simply dissolve into a puddle in Cedric’s presence.
Without a word, he buried his face in the crook of Cedric’s neck. It was early in the morning, and Cedric still smelled like floral soap, it mixed with the soft wooden scent of his colony, alongside a smell that was simply Cedric — it’s been like that ever since they were eleven, and no matter how their relationship has evolved, it was still there. Grounding, comforting, welcoming, homely. Just like Cedric.
From behind Cedric, a figure approached. Reaching them, he crouched to their level, one hand on Cedric’s shoulder, squeezing in silent gratitude, the other on top of Nicolás’ head.
“Love,” said Remus hurt, taking in the sight of his son.
The sight of his father reminded him of what he saw before, back in the classroom, making him want to cry all over again.
“I’m so sorry,” his father said, a nasty pained grimace on his face, and Nicolás would give anything to make it vanish.
“It’s okay,” Nicolás croaked, his voice still hoarse.
“No, it’s not,” Remus insisted. “I’m your father, I’m supposed to know these things,” the self-deprecation he's fought all his life coming for him.
And it sucked, it sucked so bad, because all that work seemed to tremble—and threatened to crumble—, all over one single morning badly handled.
The morning had started well, as any other. He woke up earlier than anyone else, with enough time to get out of his bed and join Cedric on his for at least an hour of snuggling, all before their dormmates woke up—not that any of them would have anything to say.
Breakfast had been an easy affair, talking with Cedric, Amara, Aurora, and Alex, then chatting outside with Caelum and Harry. In the last few days, there’s been no notice of Uncle Sirius, but Nicolás has been leaving him food at the Shrinking Shack two or three times each day, with a few things so he could clean himself.
His first class was Arithmancy, which went incredibly well because working with Lilith and Willow was always a blast. They were funny to hang out with, but vicious when working with, something Nicolás appreciated immensely, as he himself, was vicious when it came to work.
Then came Defence Against the Dark Arts, his father’s class. If he were anyone else, he would’ve probably felt ashamed or nervous, but Nicolás only felt elated to know his father would finally be teaching, and hopefully, he would be appreciated, for more than just his son.
Class started like normal. Nicolás answered questions, winning points for Hufflepuff—nobody could object, as Nicolás had been carrying the house in the House Cup by his performance in classes—Dorian also won some points for Slytherin, and then came the main topic, a revision on Boggarts.
They were studied generally in third year, but Remus, considering they haven’t had a good DADA teacher, wanted to give them a detailed revision. With a quick study of the Riddikulus Charm, they were ready.
They lined up, and student after student, they faced their Boggart. It was quick, and it was incredibly entertaining. To see how something scary like a Zombie, or an Acromantula turned to something funny and ridiculous.
Nicolás was so delighted with the performance of his classmates, clapping and cheering, that he didn’t notice how fast the line had passed, and now it was his turn. Not until it was too late. His father was on the other side of the room, yelling in delight, and congratulating every single person. That was until he saw his son in front of the Boggart, but it was already too late.
Remembering the vision of Nicolás’ Boggart, when he was nine, he ran to the front.
“Nico, no!” Remus yelled.
As he strode across the room, the Boggart exploded in dark mist. Before the horrendous scene appeared for the whole class to see. And Nicolás was sent back to that dark night when he was nine, surrounded by dark trees that seemed to make fun of him and his suffering. Only this time, Ember wasn’t there to offer his silent and feline comfort.
Because Nicolás’ biggest fear hadn’t changed.
After the mist went away, on the floor, two bodies lay. His parents. Remus and Carolina. Their clothes were completely tarnished and turned to shreds, and their bodies were a bloody mess.
The scene was so bloody, that the red liquid ran down the floor, reaching Nicolás’ sneakers, and he felt as something rushed up his throat, bile or panic, he couldn't be sure.
Paralyzed, he got to hear at least three cries of surprise and horror, before his mind started to daze. In front of the bodies, he could picture himself, back when he was nine—the first time he saw that scene—on his knees, begging the dead bodies of his parents to awake. Begging, and begging, but never getting a response, nothing but silence and blankness.
This time, he couldn’t utter a single word. He felt sick to the stomach, and he could swear he heard someone throwing up in the back of the room.
Looking into the empty and soulless eyes of their bodies, he gave clumsy steps backward, losing the awareness that always characterized him. After stumbling with at least four classmates, he simply ran out of the room. He couldn’t even notice the wet paths that ran down his cheeks.
That’s how he ended up in a deserted hallway. Thankfully, everyone else was in class, so that no one could see him on a full-on panic attack. Nobody but for his own guardian range, Cedric.
After another stabilizing breath, Nicolás moved his rather stiff body and jumped into his father’s arms. And for the second time that day, he was sent back to nine years old. The same warmth and comfort from his father after seeing the Boggart.
And Nicolás pressed harder, trying to convince the still scared part of his mind that this was the real thing. That his father was here, with him, alive and breathing, and not there, cold and dead.
“I’m sorry for ruining your class,” Nicolás mumbled against the fabric of Remus’ robes.
“Nothing is more important than you,” his father said without a single second of thought.
And they stayed in silence for a while, with Remus mouthing a silent thank you to Cedric, and Nicolás still relishing the living warmth of his father’s body.
•─────⋅☾☽⋅─────•
By the time Nicolás was born, and later on, by the time he was actually old enough to accompany his father on his full moon transformations, Abu Pedro and Damocles had revolutionized the Wizarding World by creating the Wolfsbane Potion.
He knew that the retellings did not match nor did justice to the suffering his father—and every other werewolf—had to endure before those times. And even if the potion helped with the wolf's murderous instincts, it did nothing to lessen the immeasurable physical suffering of the cursed.
With Nicolás' personal modifications of his grandfather's potion, Remus was able to stay in a much more relaxed state as his instincts heightened, and after he came back to human-like.
After Nicolás' stunt in DADA class, Remus had been walking around him like on eggshells, looking at him like a misbehaved dog asking for forgiveness, and there was no way for Nicolás to get through his father's thick skull that there was nothing to forgive.
Little could he have imagined how much of that angst would be directly translated to Moony the night before Halloween.
Moony was always, always, able to recognize Nicolás, it didn't matter that he was in his Animagus form. Pedro, Nicolás, and Remus had discussed it many times without really coming to a clear conclusion; they had simply concluded it had to do with the fact that Nicolás was his son, so probably Moony, as a dormant and constant part of Remus' mind and identity, it formed an innate bond with Nicolás that he was able to recognize him as his cub.
If that night proved something, it's that, even if Moony's murderous instincts are subdued by the potion, the other ones aren't.
The general procedure is that once his father is in werewolf form, they run around. He doesn’t need to, but it’s always good to give some space for Moony to play and burn the accumulated energy, even if he’s in the backseat.
Last night, however, Moony didn’t want to run. In fact, every time Sunstripe—Nicolás’ Animagus form—tried to play tag, Moony would start to whine and howl for him, before reaching him and tackling him to the floor.
Then, he would simply lay over him, not letting the lion move as he licked his face, all while whining in misery. He had been so adamant on not leaving Nicolás’ side, that his mother had decided to change back from her black panther form and leave them to have their moment so they could resolve their issues.
As they had learned years back, the wolf generally expressed things the human repressed. In Remus’ case, the last weeks had been eating him alive after what he felt was a fatherly utter failure for allowing Nicolás to have a panic attack, even if he wasn’t responsible for it. Nicolás didn’t even need to forgive him, because there was absolutely nothing to forgive.
The point is, every time Sunstripe tried to even move, Moony would growl and snap at him, before continuing to lick him. Nicolás took the chance to, in return, lick Moony’s snout as much as he could, nuzzling him, trying to convey to the wolf that there was nothing to forgive. Perhaps that way, his father would stop kicking himself.
With Moony refusing to move, Sunstripe rolled them over, pressing the wolf with his large frame, and they laid on the forest ground with the lion’s large paws on him, sharing their warmth.
It was ironic, but it had been one of the most tranquil full moons, and at the same time, the morning after, Nicolás felt as tired as ever, if not more.
On the morning of Halloween, utterly tired out, Nicolás helped his father up to his quarters, making sure to leave him a few pain of the potions he made—because it didn’t matter what he said, Nicolás was not willing to completely leave his father’s care in the hands of Snivellus—he went down, searching for Harry.
He found Harry wandering one of the halls, alone, and looking crestfallen.
“Hello, Little One,” Nicolás was able to utter before a yawn conquered his mouth for a few seconds.
“Hi, Nico,” Harry responded unenthusiastically, a little frown and pout on his face.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Nicolás asked, suddenly more aware.
“Nothing, it’s just… Professor McGonagall said I couldn’t go to Hogsmeade.”
“What? Did you forget the signed form? I can get Dad to fire-call Mom—”
“No,” said Harry, showing Nicolás the signed form. “She said it was too dangerous with—”
“Sirius,” Nicolás sighed.
“Yeah,” said Harry, looking down.
Nicolás thought for a moment, before shaking his head. “It doesn’t matter. You and I will be busy today, anyway. Caelum too.”
Harry looked at him, confused. “What? Why?”
“Harry, today’s Halloween.”
And it took a moment for Harry to remember his parents’ death anniversary. “Bollocks,” he said, facepalming himself. “I can’t believe I didn’t remember…”
“It’s okay, you should go and pick a scarf for the cold.”
Nodding eagerly, Harry ran up to his common room. Twenty minutes later, Caelum and Nicolás were already outside, waiting next to their moms. After Harry arrived, greeting them with hugs, and receiving kisses in return, they Apparated to Godric’s Hollow.
After each of them took their lilies to the tombstones, leaving them in the vase holder, they stayed in silence for a few minutes. With nothing to say, and no philosophical conversation over death to have, they returned to Hogwarts by lunchtime.
•─────⋅☾☽⋅─────•
The Halloween feast had been just as fantastic as expected. It was a fun event to see so many floating pumpkins, dancing skeletons, and flying bats in the Great Hall.
After they arrived from Hogsmeade, Cedric, Aurora, and Amara couldn’t stop talking about some pepper and mint flavored ice cream they ate—which sounded atrocious to Nicolás—nor about how some people talked about the ghost activity from the Shrinking Shack—which was absurd, Moony and Sunstripe had been back in the forest last night; Padfoot had been smart enough to have cleared off from the area before.
Cedric had bought Nicolás a big bag worth of all kinds of candies from Honeydukes. Of course, Cedric was rendered blushed and flushed, with a goofy smile, after Nicolás hugged and kissed him in front of everyone—apparently, but not surprisingly, Amara, Aurora, and the rest of the girls had made bets on that; Alec apparently also lost money because on said bet.
After two hours of side remarks, teasing grins, and suggestive looks from everyone around them, Nicolás decided to have mercy on a flushed Cedric, and decided to call it off for the night—they had already eaten and were full anyway—, and dragged him back to their dorm, being followed by Alec, who refused to let it go without getting more information from them.
“So, you guys are an item now?” asked Alec, once they had come back from showering before bed.
Nicolás came to a halt with his pajama top in his arm. He looked towards Cedric’s post, where the boy, with his hair still damp from the shower, was putting his sleeping shirt on.
Coughing and blushing, Nicolás looked away; he had no business looking into Cedric’s toned abdomen, nor how strong his chest seemed or—damned teenage hormones.
Before Nicolás could explain that he and Cedric still didn’t have a formal name for their relationship, Cedric spoke.
“Yeah, over the summer,” and it was said in such a nonchalant and matter-of-factly way, that Nicolás suddenly felt reassured, even if he never doubted anything.
Cedric looked at him, probably searching for approval, but was quickly distracted by Nicolás’ exposed chest, before looking down, going further down than the hem of his sleeping shorts.
And, once his gaze leveled on Nicolás’ eyes, he had absolutely no right to send him that damned sly smirk that propelled Nicolás’ heart straight to his throat—he had no business looking like the most angelic devil, trying to seduce him in nothing but white sweatpants and fluffy slippers.
Coughing and trying to calm the crazed Pixies wreaking havoc in his stomach, Nicolás turned on his post to put on his top, all while Cedric chuckled.
From behind him, Alec made a gagging noise. “Oh, Merlin, please don’t be so nauseating in here.”
“You say that 'cause you’re single,” Cedric all but sang.
“Oh, Merlin’s balls. Shut up, Diggory. You guys know the Silencing Charms, right? Please use it when you go all—” but Alec’s speech was cut off by the towel that fell in his face.
“Good night, lads,” Nicolás said in a high-pitched voice, his cheeks redder than he could remember as he closed the curtains of his post and got on the mattress.
Ten minutes later, Cedric’s head popped inside the curtains of Nicolás’ bed.
“I don’t think I’ll accept you calling me ‘lad’,” he said, a wide smirk on his face. He opened the curtains, just enough to crawl into the bed, pinning Nicolás to the mattress. When did he get the time to put on that pink shirt?
Nicolás gulped, feeling a much newer heat crawl up his body—starting by a certain and very inconvenient area down below. His eyes didn’t know if they should focus on Cedric’s welcoming and alluring lips or his intense eyes, or if he should take the risk and look further down his body.
Unconsciously, Nicolás’ hands started to fidget with the hem of Cedric’s shirt, as the boy leaned down, the fresh mint of his hot breath caressing Nicolás’ face.
“And just how should I call you, then?” Nicolás whispered, losing himself in the sweet honey of Cedric's eyes.
“I don’t know,” Cedric said, rubbing the tip of his nose against the bridge of Nicolás’. “How do you want to call me?” he whispered, his honeyed eyes trying to search for and read Nicolás' soul in his chocolate ones.
“I… don’t know?” said Nicolás, the palms of his hands pressed against the heat of Cedric’s hips as Cedric’s nose moved to his cheek. And even if he didn't offer a real answer, he could feel Cedric smiling against his skin.
“Remember the Silencing Spell!” Alec yelled.
The sudden voice broke the spell that had fallen upon them, crystalizing them away from the world, making their glassed reprieve shatter to pieces, making Nicolás jump, sit fast, and hit heads with Cedric.
“Fuck,” he cursed, rubbing his forehead. Due to the speed of the move, Cedric ended up sitting on his lap, laughing. “Sorry,” Nicolás whispered, also rubbing Cedric’s forehead too. “I think… you said Professor Sprout needed you, didn’t you?”
“Yeah,” Cedric whispered. “I think… I should go,” he said without moving.
“Mhm,” Nicolás agreed, not moving an inch, their eyes glued on each other’s.
After what felt like an eternity of closeness, Cedric chuckled, leaning forward to leave a kiss on Nicolás forehead, before crawling out of his bed, with the promise of speaking the next morning.
Not even twenty minutes had transpired—when the rest of their dormmates were already in bed—, and Nicolás was falling asleep, Cedric barged back into the room, urging them to go down to the Great Hall to spend the night there.
“Ced, what’s going on?” Nicolás mumbled as he reached Cedric.
Cedric looked apologetic, and shrugged, “I’m not sure, come,” he took Nicolás hand, entwining their fingers, while, as a Prefect, he guided the rest of the boys out of their dorms. From across the Common Room, Nicolás could hear Aurora, also in Prefect duty, yelling for the girls to move.
Of course, in the middle of getting out of the basement, they encountered the Slytherins in the same exodus, and soon enough, Gryffindors and Ravenclaws joined the common exodus toward the Great Hall.
The house tables from Great Hall had been vanished, and the space was vast for all the sleepy students in their pajamas.
“The teachers and I need to conduct a thorough search of the castle,” Dumbledore told them as Professors McGonagall and Flitwick closed all doors into the hall. “I’m afraid that, for your own safety, you will have to spend the night here. I want the Prefects to stand guard over the entrances to the hall, and I am leaving the Head Boy and Girl in charge. Any disturbance should be reported to me immediately,” he added to Percy Weasley. “Send word with one of the ghosts.”
Professor Dumbledore paused, about to leave the hall, and said, “Oh, yes, you’ll be needing...”
One casual wave of his wand and the floor was covered with hundreds of squashy purple sleeping bags.
“Sleep well,” said Professor Dumbledore, closing the door behind him.
The hall immediately began to buzz excitedly; the Gryffindors were telling the rest of the school what had just happened, and it didn't take long for Nicolás' sleepy mind to get the message. Uncle Sirius had fucking tried—and failed—to get into the Gryffindor Common Room, destroying the bloody portrait of the Fat Lady in the process.
“Everyone into their sleeping bags!” shouted Percy. “Come on, now, no more talking! Lights out in ten minutes!”
As Cedric would be busy with Prefect duties, Nicolás decided to drag his sleeping bag closer to where Harry would be sleeping. The boy seemed tense—knowing about Sirius—but that could be considered normal, as all the other Gryffindors were the same.
It was a couple of hours later that someone spoke close.
“Any sign of him, Professor?” asked Percy in a whisper.
“No. All well here?” replied Dumbledore.
“Everything under control, sir.”
“Good. There’s no point moving them all now. I’ve found a temporary guardian for the Gryffindor portrait hole. You’ll be able to move them back in tomorrow.”
“And the Fat Lady, sir?”
“Hiding in a map of Argyllshire on the second floor. Apparently, she refused to let Black in without the password, so he attacked her. She’s still very distressed, but once she’s calmed down, I’ll have Mr. Filch restore her.”
“Headmaster?” it was Snivellus. “The whole of the third floor has been searched. He’s not there. And Filch has done the dungeons; nothing there either.”
“What about the Astronomy tower? Professor Trelawney’s room? The Owlery?”
“All searched...”
“Very well, Severus. I didn’t really expect Black to linger.”
“Have you got any theory as to how he got in, Professor?” asked Snape.
“Many, Severus, each of them as unlikely as the next.”
“You remember the conversation we had, Headmaster, just before — ah — the start of term?” said Snape.
“I do, Severus,” said Dumbledore, and there was something like warning in his voice.
“It seems — almost impossible — that Black could have entered the school without inside help. I did express my concerns when you appointed —”
Was he being serious? (no pun intended) Next, he would probably claim that Nicolás had let him in, or better, Caelum. Because what better than to let your mass murderer father—accused—into the school?
“I do not believe a single person inside this castle would have helped Black enter it,” said Dumbledore, and his tone made it so clear that the subject was closed that Snape didn’t reply. “I must go down to the Dementors,” said Dumbledore. “I said I would inform them when our search was complete.”
“Didn’t they want to help, sir?” said Percy.
“Oh yes,” said Dumbledore coldly. “But I’m afraid no Dementor will cross the threshold of this castle while I am headmaster.”
And after that, the sound of their steps followed them out of the Great Hall. And Nicolás, using every ounce of control he could muster, as to not barge into the Forbidden Forest and give Uncle Sirius the scolding of his life, stayed glued to his sleeping bag until Morpheus’ song finally calmed him enough to sleep.
•─────⋅☾☽⋅─────•
It was the next morning, over breakfast, that Cedric notified Nicolás that the match against Slytherin had been canceled, as apparently Draco was injured. They all knew it was a lie at the beginning before Draco turned out mysteriously injured. It took Dorian five minutes to find out that Flint had purposefully hurt Draco; and if there was something Dorian had zero tolerance for, it was someone hurting Draco.
Naturally, the next day, Flint was admitted to the Hospital Wing after being injured in mysterious circumstances before falling down a flat of stairs, resulting in more injuries.
All in all, with Slytherin lacking its Seeker, Beater, and Captain, Hufflepuff would be playing Gryffindor instead.
Later that day, with the excuse of visiting Ember, Nicolás excused himself and walked towards the Forbidden Forest.
“What were you thinking?!”
Because, of course, it was only fair for Nicolás to wait until all his classes were done before storming into the Forbidden Forest.
“Nico—”
“No, but of course you weren’t thinking!” Nicolás pointed at him with his palms.
“I don’t—”
“It was stupid, for fuck’s sake! You didn’t even have the password! Not that having the bloody password would’ve made it any less stupid!”
Sirius was now hiding his face, looking at the floor, hopefully in shame, at being scolded like a child by his much younger nephew.
“You really are your parents’ son, you know,” Sirius said with a soft laugh. The rage red on Nicolás’ face now leaving.
“Yes, I know. I bet they also wanted to hang you and Uncle James by the balls for being stupid,” said Nicolás with a laugh.
“Oh, trust me, Moony and Caro were always like this,” said Sirius with a heavy sigh. “Always calling our bluff when we needed it, not that it saved us from getting detention, but still.”
“I thought we had an agreement,” Nicolás said with a frown, gesturing at Sirius’ body. In the week he’s been in the Forbidden Forest, he now looked less pale, healthier, and a lot cleaner, with less odor, and more reasonable to be close to.
“I know! But he’s there!” he said desperately, pointing at the castle, before bringing his hands to his hair. “I can’t — I just — I need to find him.”
“I know,” Nicolás said, putting a hand on the man’s shoulder. “But if you get caught, they’ll give the Dementor’s kiss.” Sirius gulped. "You need to think of them. How do you think Caelum or Aunt María will react if anything happened to you?"
In his shame, Sirius didn't have much to say to that.
“I’ve been dying, each time I see that fucking rat sleeping in Harry’s dorm, but Ron told me it was injured, and it ran, and you don’t want me to tell Caelum—”
“My son can’t know until I can convince him, Nicolás, please,” Sirius said quickly and desperately.
“Fine,” Nicolás groaned. He’s always hated not being able to tell Caelum something. They were cousins, best friends, and soulmates, there weren’t supposed to be secrets between them. But, for a larger good, he could endure. “I need to go back,” he sighed, and after a hug, Nicolás walked back to the castle.
•─────⋅☾☽⋅─────•
Last night had been a tiring full moon, to say the least, especially after the past October one. Even with the Wolfsbane, Moony had had too much energy, and his playfulness had left Sunstripe exhausted. Nicolás helped his father up to his quarters in the morning, and slept there, unable to go back to the basement; not that either of them had any complaint about sleeping snuggles.
Which meant he had to go down there for his things before class, which meant he was, naturally, late for said class; and wishing to have just skipped it over.
“But if it isn’t our favorite student,” Snape declared loudly when Nicolás opened the door, the sarcasm and disdain cascading from his voice. Nicolás merely rolled his eyes, ignoring the obvious taunt, and walked to sit next to Dorian. “That’s ten points from Hufflepuff, Lupin,” Nicolás practically saw him spit at the surname.
Taking his seat, he had to take five deep breaths to calm himself. Nicolás was taking out his parchment and quill when he heard the most atrocious thing of the morning—not counting the sound of his father’s bones breaking before and after the full moon.
“As I was saying before Lupin interrupted us, it's a shame Professor Lupin didn't consider it proper to inform you that Kappas are red haired beasts that can be found in Mongolia,” Snape said, checking some essays.
That Kappas are what and from where? That man lost the plot if he thought a single word from his mouth was truthful, and Nicolás wasn't going to let it slide; anything but ignorance.
“You’re wrong,” Nicolás said, still looking for his ink bottle.
“Excuse me?” Snape growled (“Oh, Merlin,” Dorian sighed from next to Nicolás).
“Kappas are not hairy, they’re scaled, and their home is Japan,” Nicolás responded, taking out his ink, not dignifying Snivellus with a single look.
“That’s another ten points from Hufflepuff, as I don’t remember asking you,” Snape spat, narrowing his eyes.
“Kappa comes from the combination of the Japanese words Kawa, which means river, and Wappa, a variation of the word for child,” Nicolás said, not affected in the slightest by Snape’s attempt at insult.
“I see that no matter the class, you never get tired of being an insufferable, braggart know-it-all,” Snape bellowed with an ugly sneer.
Nicolás chuckled. “If that’s your answer to your ignorance…”
“Silence!” snarled Snape. “That’ll be twenty points from Hufflepuff, don’t test me, Lupin.” He looked around angrily, probably trying to challenge anyone to breathe loudly. “I have decided that today’s lesson will be focused on Werewolves.”
Snape was clearly out of his mind, Werewolves were studied in depth years prior, but Nicolás was very aware this was because of his father. And how he choose to call him by his second last name instead of the first one? Snape was being pretty obvious in his petulance.
“Which of you can tell me how we distinguish between a werewolf and a true wolf?” said Snape but everyone remained silent. “Anyone?” Snape said. His twisted smile was back, and larger. “Are you telling me that Professor Lupin hasn’t been able to teach you that basic distinction?” his eyes were trained on Nicolás, probably in a new attempt to expose his father’s condition.
“Well, well, well, I never thought I’d meet a fifth-year class who wouldn’t even recognize a Werewolf when they saw one. I shall make a point of informing Professor Dumbledore how very behind you all are...”
As Nicolás opened his mouth, Dorian grabbed his arm, shaking his head. “He’s only doing this because of your father, please, don’t give him more,” Dorian hissed, clearly annoyed with his own Head of House's childish behavior.
“This is so disappointing…” Snape pretended to sigh, “Considering some of you are so… adept... in the topic of… Werewolves,” he said, looking straight into Nicolás’ eyes. Snape’s eyes generally had a very ugly glint, because that poor excuse of a man was nothing but a miserable children-bully.
‘Fuck it’, Nicolás thought.
“The worst kind of ignorance is the cynical one,” Nicolás spoke out loud to seemingly no one. Some gasps were heard, and in an instant, Snape’s eyes froze, being blinded by melting steel as his body stiffened. “You waste our time pretending to be superior to everyone, only to be splattering wrong facts, Sir. You ask empty questions, and then you deny yourself of enlightenment.”
“That’s fifty points from Hufflepuff,” snarled Snape through clenched teeth, his body trembling in rage.
"Very creative, Sir," said Nicolás with a condescending smile, and for some reason, Snape chose not to retaliate.
The rest of the lesson was spent in silence. As Snape clearly didn’t have anything important to say, he spent the whole time reading essays handed by everyone from every year, making corrections out loud, most of which were wrong anyway.
Naturally, Nicolás corrected him the entire time. Each time earning an icy and enraged glare, but nothing more. Nicolás had already lost Hufflepuff ninety points—which had to be a record all in itself, he would make sure to mention it to Uncle Sirius—but he still had the impression nobody would hold it against him. He had earned them those points anyway; it would probably take him two weeks to win them back.
By the end, he assigned them a two-roll essay on how to recognize and kill Werewolves, but Nicolás already knew that once he came back, his father would throw away the assignment.
•─────⋅☾☽⋅─────•
“Are you sure you shouldn’t ask for a postponement?” asked Nicolás, biting his lower lip. “It’s about to rain, and it’s bound to get worse.”
“I think you worry that pretty head of yours too much, Darling” Cedric answered with a smile. “We’re Quidditch players, a bit of rain will be easy peasy,” he added smugly.
Nicolás chuckled. “Okay, Mr. Captain, I leave the rain for you, then,” said Nicolás taking out his wand and casting a warming spell so Cedric’s playing robes would retain their heat in the cold weather. “I’ll see you later,” he turned to leave.
“I think you’re forgetting something,” Cedric called out loud, causing some of his teammates to look.
When Nicolás turned back, Cedric was looking at him, his head tilted to the side, and puffing out his right cheek at him, pretending to be distracted.
"Oh, I really am, am I not?" he decided to humor him.
Laughing, Nicolás walked back, loudly kissing his cheek, which only made Cedric’s smile widen, his eyes resembling half moons. But before he could move, Cedric’s hands were holding his waist.
Some of the other players were already making playfully suggestive and teasing sounds, but Cedric was shameless, so, he barely paid them any mind.
“Now I feel like we’ll win,” Cedric whispered, the tip of his nose gracing the bridge of Nicolás’.
The rest of the Hufflepuff team seemed to be very interested in their exchange, given by the large grins they sent.
All flushed, and giggly, Nicolás left another kiss on the corner of Cedric’s mouth, before wishing the team good luck and walking out, directing himself towards the Gryffindor locker room, where they were finishing with Wood’s pep-talk.
As he spotted Harry, the storm broke down outside. In only seconds, the whole stadium was filled with heavy winds and dense rain.
“Little One!” Nicolás called out. Harry’s head immediately snapped in his direction, and the boy smiled.
“Hey. We’re about to go out,” said Harry, pointing at the door.
“I know, give me your glasses.” Instead of questioning, Harry simply handed his glasses. With a quick “Impervius,” Nicolás handed them back. “There you go, now the water won’t bother you.”
After another quick warming spell on Harry’s playing robes, and a thank-you hug from Harry, Nicolás made his way back to the stands with his wand in hand, using it to create a magical umbrella.
Finally sitting between Dorian—who was sitting with Draco—and Ruby, Nicolás looked out. But the thing is, it was completely impossible to see a single thing. The rain was so thick, that it seemed like a concrete wall enveloping the whole place. The sound of the raindrops and the thunders made it impossible to make out any kind of commentary.
After Cedric and Wood, as captains, shook hands, Madam Hooch whistled the start of the match.
Harry and Cedric, as seekers, disappeared from sight in seconds. But this only lasted about half an hour, with a few goals for Gryffindor, Wood called for a time-out.
After a few minutes, with Wood checking on Harry, they got back in the air. The thunders kept clapping as the anticipation grew. Everyone was at the edge of their seats, but that was ironic because Nicolás was completely sure not a single person from the stands could see a thing in the pitch.
There was a moment in which, after a rather luminous lightning, Harry froze mid-air, looking at one of the stands, before he seemed to lose the grip of his broom, falling a few meters before picking up height. Nicolás was already half-standing.
Cedric, probably having spotted the Snitch, zoomed past him, and Harry followed. Out of nowhere, a sudden cold—very distinctive from the natural cold of the weather—went through Nicolás’ body. And he wasn’t the only one, Amara, Aurora, Ruby, Amelia, Lilith, and Willow all shivered.
“They’re here,” Dorian whispered next to him, looking beyond the limits of the stadium. And Nicolás felt his heart drumming fast, and a sudden emptiness in the pit of his stomach.
“The Dementors,” Amelia said with her eyes shut down.
Snapping his head upward, Nicolás saw what looked like at least a hundred hooded figures floating, all moving towards Harry. Ahead of him, Nicolás got to see Cedric gripping his fingers around the Snitch, winning the match for Hufflepuff.
Thinking little, and with a shaky hand, Nicolás raised his wand, and after a deep breath, he cried, “Expecto Patronum!” and his silver wolf was summoned from the tip of his wand, padding fiercely towards Harry., who had passed out on his broom.
Without much awareness of his surroundings, and the blood hammering in his ears, Nicolás stumbled over everyone, taking people out of the way, and descending towards the pitch. He didn’t even get to see the silver lion Caelum had summoned, nor the silver Phoenix from Dumbledore.
He barely had enough time to see how Harry lost his grip on the broomstick, while the Dementors, moved by the force of the three enraged Patronuses, sent the poor Firebolt straight to the Whomping Willow.
Nicolás' eyes were merely trained on Harry’s small frame free-falling towards the ground. Thankfully, with a simple and perfectly aimed “Arresto Momentum,” Harry’s body started to fall more slowly, before coming to a halt, unconscious, a few inches from the floor.
Quickly, moved by their morbid interest, people started to approach, Caelum descended at record speed, leaving his own Firebolt forgotten on the floor to grab Harry, and carry him, running towards the Hospital Wing, Nicolás hot on his heels.
Hufflepuff might have won, but Nicolás was a hundred percent sure Cedric was going to be fuming about the conditions of their victory, probably asking for a just re-match for Gryffindor.
And he wasn’t wrong, an hour later, after Madam Pomfrey promised to be very vigilant with Harry over the night, Nicolás walked back to the Hufflepuff common room.
The whole place was filled to the brink with over-enthusiastic Hufflepuffs celebrating their team's first victory of the season, all but their star player was nowhere to be seen.
When he came out to the dorm, after taking a quick shower, Cedric was sitting on the edge of Nicolás’ bed with a pensive look, and eyes trained on the floor, sulking alone.
“Everyone’s celebrating out there,” Nicolás noted, as their dorm was empty, except for them.
Given how he was wearing clean clothes, and was in a much cleaner state, Cedric probably showered in the locker room.
“I don’t feel like celebrating,” Cedric mused, still refusing to look up.
“You just led the team towards their first victory of the year,” Nicolás retorted, putting on his sleeping top.
“It still wasn’t fair; we need a rematch and—”
Shaking his head, Nicolás got on the bed, behind Cedric. He crawled until he could sit behind the taller boy, encasing him in his much shorter legs. He could feel how tense Cedric still was.
“What you need right now, is a good night's sleep, Ced,” Nicolás said against the back of Cedric’s neck, his thumbs making pressure as they drew circles on Cedric's tense shoulder blades.
“Harry’s fine, and being watched over, and even Wood accepted the defeat with Madam Hooch. Let’s sleep,” his hands moved to massage the upper part of the boy's shoulders and the sides of his neck.
Little by little, Cedric’s body started to loosen up, leaning back against Nicolás chest.
“Can I sleep here?” he asked softly.
Instead of answering, Nicolás moved them so they could lay on their side, with Nicolás spooning Cedric from behind. And hidden by the post curtains, both of them fell asleep, letting go of the emotions of the day.
Unconsciously for both, this became their constant sleeping arrangement. Not that Nicolás had any complaint about being Cedric’s big spoon—despite being shorter—because it was adorable, and Cedric had no complaint about Nicolás warm and soft scented chest becoming his favorite space to snuggle at night, letting go of all the pressures of existence.
⋆｡°✩°｡⋆
Author's note
Okay, I know we started it strong with a panic attack and a bit of a gory scene, but I loved writing it, from Nicolás' thoughts, to his reactions, to Cedric taking care of him and everything, it was just great.
Now, if there's any confusion, there were two full moons in this chapter. The first one was October 30th, and the second one was November 28th!
Also, that five-minute scene in the dorms has to be the spiciest scene I've ever written for this fic. At least explicitly, and with minors. Which has been a mental debate for me, as I don't really know how appropriate it is to write that kind of stuff with minors, and I already promised myself that I would never write underage sex scenes. However, I still recognize that adolescence is a sexual awakening all in itself, and it would not be right to simply scratch that aspect of the human experience.
I think I want to explore more that aspect of Nicolás and Cedric's relationship, but perhaps more in the future, because, anyway, they're already 16, so, it'll be very vanilla for now.
Lastly, Nicolás and Cedric are relationship goals. All you need in your life is someone who treats you Nicolás treats Cedric, and how Cedric treats Nicolás, amen.
Thank you so much for being here! All your comments, votes, and follows are always appreciated!
- 𝐣. 𝐟. 𝐜. 🐼💜