Magical Demigods

They kept an eye on Quirrell after that, watching as he got paler and thinner as the days went by.

"He might be ignoring his health because he might not be able to get past the obstacles," Dawn said. It was a very good, very plausible answer.

Nico and Dawn began ignored his lessons even more than they had been. It was Dawn's way of saying 'I don't like you as a teacher' and for Nico, it was saying that he thought Quirrell didn't deserve a job at all. How the man got it, he didn't know. He stuttered like crazy and it was annoying.

Nico managed to get the ghosts to watch Quirrell and report back to him if there were any changes to how Quirrell was acting or if he was getting further with the obstacles. They obeyed, giving him reports on it.

Hermione, though, was fussed over exams. She began to draw up revision timetables for them and going over her material. Dawn began to follow her lead, writing down the things she needed to know neatly in books colour coded for each subject with black pen and pastel highlighters. She added things in, drew up diagrams, and made it look so much nicer than her class notes that were written in untidy sprawl on parchment.

The teachers piled more homework on them, and Nico found himself in the library most days, finishing essays and getting Dawn to proofread and suggest edits to improve his grade on that subject. Nico found it helped more than how Hermione helped Ron and Harry, and Dawn started to help those two with homework as well.

It was on one of these sessions in the library that it ended up happening.

It was a beautiful day outside, yet the six of them were occupied by homework, so they were in the library again.

"I can't do this anymore," Ron said, looking out of the window at the clear day they had. It was the first one in a while, and it spoke of the promise of summer. Nico wasn't entirely looking forward to the summer he had in front of him. If they didn't win, then he wouldn't be able to return to this school. He didn't want to think of that.

Nico searched for 'Dittany' in his book.

"Page 34 in One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi," Dawn said. Nico flipped to the page, as did Harry, who was also searching Dittany. 

"Hagrid! What are you doing in the library?" Ron asked, suddenly. Nico looked up so fast that he almost got whiplash from it. Sure enough, Hagrid was standing there, in the middle of the library, hiding something behind his back and looking shifty. He failed to hide how he shifted from one foot to the other, almost anxiously. He looked extremely out of place.

"Jus' lookin'," he told them. Even his voice was shifty.

"He's lying, it's so obvious that he's lying," Dawn muttered, loud enough for the demigods to hear it.

"An' what're you lot ter?" A suspicious look came over his face. "Yer not still lookin'  fer Nicolas Flamel, are yeh?"

"Oh, no, we figured him out a while ago. We're just waiting to see if anyone's going to try anything with what Fluffy's guarding. And yes, we know what it is. We're just revising right now," Dawn explained. Hagrid seemed lost for words.

"Ah- alrigh' then. Anyways, come an' see me later. I'm not promisin' that I'll tell yeh anythin' about that, mind, but you can' go talkin' about that here. They'll think I've told yeh-"

"See you later, then," Harry agreed. Hagrid shuffled off, still looking very suspicious.

"What do you think he was hiding behind his back?" Hermione asked. 

"I'm going to go see where he was," Dawn decided, before they had anything else to say. She went off, finding where Hagrid was. She wasn't gone for long before she came back with three books in her arms.

She set them down on the table for them to see.

"Dragon Species of Great Britain and Ireland, From Egg to Inferno, A Dragon's Keeper Guide," Ron read out.

"I think he was given a dragon egg," Dawn mused. Everyone looked at her.

"But- that's illegal?" Ron said, blinking in surprise.

"He won a three headed dog off of a guy in a pub once and named it Fluffy of all things. It's not unlike him to get something so illegal and tell us about it."

"We're going to have to tell someone about this before it gets too bad," Nico said. 

"I can try and get in contact with Charlie. He works with dragons, maybe he could help us?" Ron suggested.

"You are a genius, Ron," Dawn said, a grin on her face. 

"Come on, let's go," Harry decided. They packed up their things and shoved them in their bags then left for Hagrid's cabin.

They knocked. When Hagrid opened the door, it was very slightly, as if he was hiding something. The closed curtains only added to their suspicion, which probably wasn't very good for Hagrid. He let them in quickly and closed the door behind them.

Nico found himself to be in a stifling hot hut, the windows and curtains being closed keeping the heat in. It was summer, why was he keeping his hut this hot?

Hagrid made them tea and offered them stoat sandwiches. They refused the sandwiches.

"Yeh wanted to ask me somethin'?"

"You have a dragon egg, don't you?" Well, there was no beating around the bush when Dawn wanted her answers. Hagrid seemed taken aback at the question.

"Huh?"

"We know that you were looking at dragon keeping resources in the library, Hagrid. That, and you've wanted a dragon for ages. How'd you even get it?" Dawn asked. 

"Won it las' night. I was down in the village havin' a few drinks an' got into a game o' cards with a stranger. Think he was quite glad to get rid of it, ter be honest," Hagrid told them. Dawn sighed. 

"But what are you going to do with it once it hatches?" Hermione asked. Honestly, that was a good question. What the hell does one do with a giant, fire-breathing lizard with wings? Other than to guard things, like how the dragon around Thalia's pine tree at camp guarded the fleece.

"Well, I've bin doin' some readin'." Hagrid pulled out book out from under his pillow. "Got this outta the library - Drgaon Breeding for Pleasure and Profit - it's a bit outta date, o' course, but it's all in here. Keep the egg in the fire, cause their mothers breathe on 'em, see, an' when it hatches, feed it on a bucket o' brandy with chicken blood every half hour-"

"Hagrid, I hate to interrupt you, but I have to because you can't keep it," Dawn said in a gentle voice. Hagrid frowned.

"I knew that, o' course," he said. Dawn nodded.

"I know that. But, keeping a dragon? You'd be lucky to not be arrested by the ministry for keeping it. When we figured out that you might have a dragon egg, we came up with the idea to contact Charlie Weasley. He'd be able to keep the dragon safe for you, you might even be able to visit it if you're lucky, but you simply don't have the resources needed to take care of one." Dawn explained, putting everything in a way that was kind yet extremely logical. She even presented Hagrid with their solution.

The man sighed.

"All righ'. Tell yer brother then, won' you?" Hagrid said, directing that last one at Ron. 

"Of course!" Ron agreed. It was clear that all three of them were relieved that Dawn had succeeded in convincing Hagrid to give up the dragon. Realistically, Hagrid didn't have time nor space to raise a dragon. The poor thing needed a mother dragon to teach it how to dragon. They weren't like wolves or dogs, after all.

"While we're still on this topic, what did the stranger look like?" Nico asked. It was extremely suspicious that a stranger in a pub knew that Hagrid wanted a dragon, had an egg for said creature, and gave it to Hagrid when he won.

It didn't make sense in a way. But at the same time, he realised, it did.

Quirrell.

"I didn' see his face. He wouldn' take his cloak off." The six children looked around at each other, looks of dismay on their faces when Hagrid turned around to turn the egg over in the fire. At least he was attempting to take care of it.

"Did he say anything? Ask you any questions about the things you take care of?" Draco asked.

"Yeh... Yeh, he did. He asked me what I did, an' I told him I was gamekeeper here. He asked a bit about the creatures I look after, so I told him... an' I said what I'd always really wanted was a dragon... an' then... I can' remember too well, cause he kept buying me drinks... Let's see... yeah, then he said he had the dragon egg an' we could play cards fer it if I wanted... but he had ter be sure that I could handle it, he didn' want it to go ter any old home... So I told him, after Fluffy, a dragon would be easy..." The man was now pouring out more tea.

"And... Did he seem interested in Fluffy?" Harry asked. Nico felt his heart beat faster.

"Well, yeah. How many three headed dogs d'yeh meet, even around Hogwarts? So I told him, Fluffy's a piece o' cake if yeh know how to calm him down. Jus' play him a bit o' music and he'll got straight off ter sleep-" Hagrid caught himself. "I shouldn'ta told yeh that!" He was angry with himself. "Forget I said it! Hey- where're yeh going?" 

Nico, Ron, Harry, Hermione, Dawn and Draco left at that, running to the great hall. 

"What do we do?" Hermione asked, voice low and desperate.

"We wait," Nico said. His friends looked at him.

"What?"

"We can't wait!" Harry said.

"We need to get through the exams. Besides, we should wait until we know when he's going to go get it."

"How do we know when that is?" Ron asked. Nico silently led them to an empty classroom. 

"Sir Nicholas, Friar," he called. The ghosts came to him at his call.

"How may we help you today, Mr di Angelo?" Sir Nicholas asked.

"What are Quirrell's movements?" He asked.

"He has not yet figured out what Snape's obstacle is, however he knows how to get past the dog now," the Fat Friar answered. Nico nodded. 

"Alright. Tell me when he's going to go get the Stone," Nico ordered.

"As you wish, Mr do Angelo," the ghosts chorused. Nico dismissed them, and they left. He turned to his friends.

"Smart," Dawn commented. Nico smiled wryly.

"Thanks."

"How exactly do you do that?" Ron asked.

"I took the title of Ghost King from Minos after he tried to manipulate me in Daedalus's labyrinth." Ron's mouth formed an 'o'.

"So, they've been watching Quirrell and reporting on his movements?" Harry asked. Nico nodded.

"Yep. Don't worry, it's for the best, and they can turn invisible, so they can eavesdrop easily. All of the ghosts here are helping me."

"Why do I feel like we'll be using them for a lot of things in the upcoming years?" Dawn asked.

_______________________________________

Their minds were quickly occupied by their tests. Even when McGonagall told them that the egg was safely taken by some of Charlie's friends off to the reserve where it would be given to a foster mother of the same kind. Hagrid was sad, but at least now they didn't have to worry about that part.

They were just focused on not failing that year.

It was incredibly hot, especially when they did their written papers in a large classroom with no ventilation. The quills they had been given were charmed to recognise cheating, so that was out of the question. Nico didn't really have much of a problem with that. He remembered it all well enough to write it down. Dawn, Hermione, and Draco scribbled away furiously, though Dawn admitted that she'd leave some of the questions for later if she wasn't sure.

They had practicals, too. Making a pineapple tap-dance across a desk, turning mice into snuff-boxes with extra points for a pretty snuff-box and points taken away for any mouse-like features left behind. Snape's exam was nerve wracking, with him breathing down their necks as they did their best to remember how to make a Forgetfulness Potion, and then trying to remember dates and names for History of Magic. Dawn was probably going to do extremely well, as she had a love for history.

It was after they finished their exams that Nico saw one of the ghosts, Helena Ravenclaw, trying to get his attention. He grabbed his friends attention and led them down the path that the ghost was leading them down, to an empty classroom.

"Is he going to move?" Nico asked when they got there.

"He is. The ghosts of Hogwarts wish you luck in your mission," she said. Nico nodded.

"Thank you, Helena, your help and the help of the ghosts of Hogwarts has been beneficial," he said. Helena nodded. She left when he dismissed her.

"We need to act tonight," Dawn decided. Harry looked at her like she'd sprouted another head or had a second body.

"I can't let you guys go with me," he said.

"Drop the hero act, dude. You'll need help."

It was decided that Hermione, Ron, and Harry would go through together. 

Nico barely slept that night, and chose to spend it in the common room. Dawn kept him company, but she fell asleep on the couch when it got later. One of the older students covered her with a blanket and took off her glasses, putting them on the table.

Nico wrote to Will, explaining that he'd be dropping Dawn off at camp and then go see what he could do to help the war effort. He wrote another letter to Chiron, explaining the same thing to him, and sent both of them off with Riley, who had joined them not too long after the last students went to bed.

He guessed that he fell asleep, too, as the next thing he knew, he was being woken by a third year. 

"It's time for breakfast, I suggest you go eat then come back to start packing your things," they said. Nico nodded, and went to change. He joined Dawn in the Great Hall, who was sitting across from Ron and Hermione. Draco joined them. 

The two of them explained what had happened, and that Harry would be fine but he was being kept in the infirmary until he was declared well enough to leave, which was probably going to be that night.

When they returned to their common room, it was to pure mayhem. People were searching for things, helping each other and summoning things, which whizzed over their heads. Nico and Dawn separated to pack.

The rest of the day went by quickly. The House Elves provided the students with sandwiches and juice for lunch while they worked. Nico was glad.

He realised just how prejudiced towards Gryffindor were when, even though they hadn't won the Quidditch cup that year, they still ended up winning the house cup because Dumbledore rewarded Harry, Ron, and Hermione enough points to catch Gryffindor up to Slytherin, who had won that year. 

And then gave Neville fifty more points, which made Gryffindor the winners.

"Can he even do that?" Nico asked Dawn in a low voice.

"He's the bloody headmaster, whatever he says goes. If he said that up was down and the sky was green then everyone would believe him," she said. Her face said that she didn't trust him.

Eventually, they climbed onto the train and left Hogwarts behind. They spent time with their friends, ignoring the fact that they would be fighting a war in a few short hours. If they could be even a little bit naive, then they would be.

However, their time came to an end as they pulled into Kings Cross. They changed back into muggle clothes and grabbed their things.

"Oh yeah, Nico, my mum's taking us to her place. You can keep your things there for the summer until we have to return," Dawn said. Nico nodded.

On the platform, Dawn grabbed Nico's wrist and led him through the crowd to a woman who had long, dark red hair. It was the colour of blood when it dried.

Nico guessed that his friend's hair was her mother's hair and Apollo's hair combined.

"Hi, Mama," Dawn greeted her mom. She hugged her.

"Hello, sweetheart. I'm guessing that this is your friend?" The woman replied.

"Nice to meet you, Ms Soleil," Nico said. She smiled.

"Please, just call me Nikki." Nico nodded.

They said goodbye to their other friends, then left, apparating to Dawn's new home in America. Nikki led them inside, and showed them their rooms. Nico was thankful.

They spent a couple of days there before they went to camp. And officially into the war that consumed the world of gods and demigods.