Magical Demigods

Somehow, through fighting the cyclops, the six of them all became friends. Well, more like Hermione joined their friend group. But it still counted.

In his spare time, Nico went to hang out with his friends. They often went to the library, where Madam Pince stalked them as though they would do something horribly wrong. They mostly ignored her, completing homework together. Dawn and Hermione and Draco often finished before Nico, Harry and Ron, and would find a book to read while they waited.

However, there was the burning question of who the other two demigods were. It ate away at Nico, and Dawn admitted that she wanted to know who they were as well. They agreed to let them say something, to gather the evidence before confronting their friends about it.

They did just that.

They watched their friends habits, trying to match them to a certain god or goddess. Harry and Ron could have easily passed as children of Hermes, but Hermione and Draco caught their attention.

They didn't really have the most notable traits that could indicate them being Demigods. Their being the top two in the entire year could have just been because Hermione was eager to learn as much magic as possible, while Draco had grow up with magic everywhere around him. It wasn't just that though.

They had all of the traits of being children of a certain goddess, whether it was their grey eyes, their insane amount of knowledge, and every other trait Nico had observed in the goddess's children. Nico brought his ideas to Dawn who agreed with him.

However, there were other things they had to focus on.

The arrival of November brought along freezing cold weather. Frost settled on the grounds every night, and Hagrid was often seen defrosting the school's brooms. He wore his warmest clothes to do so.

It was so cold, that Dawn learnt warming charms, as did Hermione. The girls taught the others in their year level the charms, and saved many of them from the freezing cold of the hallways. Many of the students were wearing their dragon hide gloves to keep the cold at bay. It was hard to find someone who wasn't wearing the school jersey and their robes every day at all hours, their scarfs often worn in between classes.

Of course, Quidditch season had begun. Nico couldn't fathom why anyone would want to play in cold weather, something that Dawn agreed with. But it was Harry's first match, Gryffindor versus Slytherin. The news of Harry being on the team got out somehow, and he had many people saying that they'd be supporting him or running around underneath him with a mattress. Dawn boosted his morale ever time one of the students said that part. 

Hermione had relaxed on the whole rule breaking aspect after becoming their friend. It had its uses, as she would conjure a flame for them to huddle around in a jar. How she had discovered it, Nico didn't know, but none of them were complaining.

The day before the match, they were in the courtyard, huddled around the flame. Dawn was talking to Harry, distracting him from his nerves and also herself from the cold, it seemed. She was busy educating him on the stories of the gods and monsters and Greek heroes that had lived and died through out the years. Ron was listening in on it, too, which was probably a testament to how captivating her words were. Child of Apollo things, probably.

Snape appeared, limping slightly. Nico glanced to Dawn, who was also frowning. He'd long learned that she was a talented healer. In fact, she'd go and help Madam Pomfrey when she could. No doubt she was wondering what could make Snape limp like that.

He noticed them, and walked over to the group of six. He hadn't noticed the fire, yet the look in his eyes told Nico that he wanted to find a reason to tell them off. The warmth disappeared as Hermione got rid of the blue fire and hid away the jar in her robes, acting as though she was adjusting her robes.

"What are you six up to?" He asked.

"Trying to stay warm when it's freezing cold," Draco answered. Snape looked at him.

"Very well. I would highly discourage any... Rule breaking," he replied, surveying the group. Nico just stared at the man. If there was one thing that he knew for certain, it was that the Potions Master had a major soft spot for Slytherins and Nico. Not that the man would ever admit it. Who in their right mind would do so?

Snape limped off, leaving the six of them alone.

"What do you think is wrong with his leg?" Harry asked.

"Dunno, but I hope that it's really hurting him," Ron muttered in response.

"I'm kind of worried about him." All five of them turned to face Draco. "What? He's my godfather, and much better than my actual father. I've always been close to him, so this is worrying me."

"He's your godfather?" Ron asked. 

"Yeah?" Ron shook his head.

"Bloody hell. This year's full of surprises."

That evening, Nico, Dawn and Draco went to find Snape. They decided that the staff room was the best place to go.

They knocked on the door of the staff room.

"Professor Snape? We want to talk to you about something," Draco called. Smart move, as he was likely to answer to his godson.

"Come in," came his voice. Draco opened the door. Dawn was once again holding onto Nico. A nervous habit of hers.

Snape was sitting at the table, drinking something. He raised an eyebrow at them. It was a good thing that it was just them in the room.

"Yes?" He drawled.

"We couldn't help but notice that you're limping," Draco said.

"You do not need to worry about it, I am fine, just a misfortune."

"Can I look at it, Sir? I can heal with my hands, so maybe I could help you?" Dawn asked, clearly nervous. Snape looked at her. 

"Her father is the one of healing," Nico told his half brother. He looked over Dawn for a few, painful moments. Finally, he sighed.

"Fine, but I will not share with you how I obtained such an injury." Dawn just nodded.

"I'm just happy to help you," she said. She walked over to their teacher, propping his leg up on a chair. She removed the bandages on his leg. The three of them grimaced when they saw the bite marks.

"It's clear how he got those," Nico whispered to Draco.

"It is." They were both thinking of the giant, three headed dog that was locked up in the castle.

Dawn healed Snape's leg with ease, wrapping it back up when she was done.

"It'll probably hurt for a while, but that's to be expected," she told him.

"Truly. Is there another reason why you three are here?"

"No. I just got worried when I saw you limping like that. Why didn't you go to Madam Pomfrey?" Draco asked.

"It would have been unwise." Nico was starting to understand Bianca a bit by just standing there listening to his half brother talk about his injury.

"Well, we should get going now. Have a good evening, Sir," Dawn said. She walked out, Nico following her. They waited a bit for Draco to appear.

"He got those from that dog, didn't he?" Draco asked.

"Yeah. It's extremely foolish of him to not have sought out medical help when he first got it. The infections he could have gotten! What if he ended up with rabies? Do three headed dogs even have the ability to spread rabies?"

The next morning was extremely cold. Nico was glad for the warm clothes he had and the warming charms he easily applied to his clothes. He helped some of the boys in his dorm with the charms, as well. The Great Hall was filled with people looking forward to the first Quidditch match of the year. 

And Harry was refusing to eat.

"Come on, you've got to eat something," Hermione said.

"I'm not hungry," Harry replied.

"Playing on an empty stomach won't do anything, Harry. So eat up, Bambi."

"Bambi?" Harry asked, looking at Dawn like she'd grown another head. The girl in question just shrugged.

"It fits," she said.

"No it doesn't?" Harry and everyone who could hear this conversation were confused. 

"Just eat. It'll do you good." Harry sighed and ate some toast. That satisfied all of them.

"Hey, Harry, good luck out there," Draco said. Harry smiled at the blond.

They headed off to the pitch with the rest of the school, climbing up to get a good view of the game. Nico, Dawn, Hermione, Ron, and the rest of the boys in their year that were Gryffindor, went to put up the banner that had been made in support of Harry. It was a rather impressive thing, with the words Potter for President on it and a large Gryffindor lion painted onto it. Hermione performed a tricky charm, which caused it to change colours.

"Smart idea, Hermione," Dawn applauded. Hermione smiled.

"Thanks."

Soon, the teams walked out. Nico cheered for his friend, who looked out of place in the team, yet still looked like he belonged right there.

Madam Hooch said something to the two teams, and soon the game began.

It was more exciting that Nico had anticipated, with the Chasers throwing the Quaffle around to each other, trying to get hold of it before the other team could score a goal. The kid commentating the match kept making comments that had McGonagall scolding him.

"Budge up there, move along."

"Hagrid!" Hermione exclaimed. The four of them moved to give Hagrid some space to stand and watch the match.

"Bin watchin' from me hut," he said. He patted a large pair of binoculars around his neck, amplifying his point. "But it isn't the same as bein' in the crowd. No sign of the Snitch yet?"

"Nope. Harry hasn't had much to do yet," Ron informed their friend. He looked out to see Harry moving fast, keeping out of the way of Bludgers and circling the place like a hawk, keeping an eye out for the Snitch as said animal might search for small prey like mice and rats. 

"Bin keepin' outta trouble, though, that's something," Hagrid commented. Harry had explained that it was their game plan. 

When Harry did spot the Snitch, though, trouble began. It started with Marcus Flint blocking Harry, not even trying to hide that he did it. It earned a lot of displeasure from those supporting Gryffindor.

Then his broom started to buck.

Brooms weren't supposed to do that. They were hard to interfere with.

Except, as Hagrid pointed out, powerful Dark Magic.

Nico looked around to figure out who it was. His eyes landed on Quirrell and Snape. However, demigods didn't try and kill innocent people.

No, it was Quirrell.

"I'll take care of it," Nico said, risking one last glance at his friend who was struggling to stay on his broom. Fred and George flew under him, hoping to catch him if he fell. A smart idea, and no doubt Dawn would be ready to offer her healing abilities should Harry need them.

He just wasn't losing anyone else.

Nico ducked away, taking advantage of the fact that everyone was now looking at Harry and his bucking broom to shadow travel to the other side of the stadium.

He summoned the same blue fire that Hermione had the previous day, setting it on Quirrell's robes. It effectively distracted the entire staff, including Snape, who looked around to see who did it. His eyes landed on Nico, and the two of them shared a slight nod. Nico once again took advantage of the chaos to get back to his friends.

"How'd you get there and back so fast?" Ron asked.

"Tell you later," Nico said.

Harry was no longer struggling to stay on his broom. He sped to the ground. Just as he neared the grass on the pitch, he clamped his hand to his mouth.

Gryffindor won the match when Harry hit the pitch and the Snitch fell into his hands. It was confusing, but Gryffindor had won, so none of them were complaining. The Slytherins were, but that was the least of their worries.

Harry, Ron, Hermione, Nico, Dawn and Draco sat in Hagrid's hut afterwards, being made tea by the large man.

"It was Snape, I saw it through the binoculars!" Ron insisted.

"Uncle Sev wouldn't do that, no matter how much he hates someone," Draco told him.

"I saw him though," Ron protested.

"It was Quirrell," Nico said. Everyone looked at him.

"It couldn't'a bin," Hagrid said. Nico shook his head.

"I now what I saw. If I think I know Snape the way I think I do, seeing as he is something that you probably would think wasn't true if I said anything about it, he would never hurt an innocent person, no matter how much he hates them. Quirrell..."

"His stumbling and apparent nervousness would be the perfect cover for someone with ulterior motives," Dawn finished.

"Well, we don't know that for sure," Hermione said.

"Padre, por favor, muéstrame el futuro en lo que concierne a este profesor de Defensa Contra las Artes Oscuras," Dawn mumbled. Nico could only really understand a few things, but he guessed that she was asking for guidance. Not that bad of an idea, if the gods would actually listen to her.

"What did you say?" Ron asked. Dawn shook her head.

"Nothing," she said. "It doesn't matter. Just, trust us on this. Please?" The others exchanged wary looks. 

"Well, one thing we do know is that Snape tried to get past the three headed dog, but he wouldn't do that for his own personal gain," Draco said.

"How do you know about Fluffy?" Hagrid asked.

"Fluffy?" All six children asked. Nico was more exasperated. First there's Cerberus, whose name roughly translated to 'Spot'. The fact that this one was named Fluffy was barely a surprise. 

"Yeah. He's mine. I bought him off a Greek chappie I met in the pub las' year. I lent him to Dumbledore to guard the-"

"Yes?" Harry asked, eagerly. 

"Now, don' ask me any more. That's top secret, that is."

"Hagrid, someone's trying to steal it. It doesn't matter how secure the school is, someone's bound to be able to get in under the disguise of a teacher," Dawn told him, exasperated herself.

"Rubbish. No one would try that while Dumbledore's around."

"Hagrid, someone tried to kill Harry!" Hermione stressed. "I know a jinx when I see one, Hagrid! You've got to keep eye contact!"

"Yeah! Snape and Quirrell were doing exactly that!" Dawn backed their friend.

"You lot are meddlin' in thing that don' concern ya. It's dangerous-" Dawn and Nico exchanged a look with each other. Danger was their life "-you forget that dog, and what it's gaurdin', that's something between Professor Dumbledore an' Nicolas Flamel-"

"So there's someone called Nicolas Flamel involved," Harry said, triumphantly. Hagrid looked extremely furious with himself on that part.

Later, Dawn and Nico went to the Hufflepuff common room.

"We need to look into this," Nico said, switching to the one language that no one would actually know to keep people from trying to eavesdrop. 

"We do. If it's something that our enemy might be able to use, then we're good as dead," Dawn agreed. 

"How do we even go about this?" Nico asked, screwing his face up.

"I asked Apollo for guidance back at Hagrid's hut. Hopefully the gods will provide an answer that we can work with." Nico nodded.

"Let's try and get through our homework first."

"Good idea."

They could worry over it later.