An Unlikely Duo 2: The Chamber of Secrets

Artemis is just so done and the story hasn't even started yet.

He slammed the book shut, "I can't read another page of this abomination." he muttered, tossing it into his trunk. 

As he looked through his drawer for 'Hogwarts: A History' , he came across a small notebook. He pulled it out and started flipping through the pages thoughtfully.

"My list of things that are odd about Nico." he murmured, "I wondered where that went."

Artemis was no idiot. He hadn't bought Nico's story about his 'family gifts' for a minute. Okay, he had bought it for a while, but once he got home and could leisurely browse through several books on notable wizards through the ages, he noticed that shadow powers were noticeably absent. Even if his family was under a different name, there was no description anywhere about any powers even close to Nico's. Sure, some people could practice umbrakinesis, but not on Nico's level. It shouldn't even be possible for an 11 year old kid to manipulate shadows that much. It shouldn't be possible for anyone to manipulate shadows that much!

Artemis had considered the possibility that Nico's family preferred to keep their talents hidden, but if there was one thing he knew for sure about wizards, it was that they couldn't keep their mouths shut. If they had something powerful in their possession, someone or the other would give in to the urge to boast, and the next day, the entire country would know. Soon enough, it would end up in a bedtime story that parents would use to scare their kids. No wizarding family on earth would be able to keep a secret like that for long. So that left two options. Either Nico was lying about his gift, which was unlikely since Artemis himself had seen it in action, or....
Nico wasn't a wizard.

Artemis looked up as he heard someone knocking on his door.

"Come in." he called.

Butler walked in, taking in the surrounding as he always did. His eyes lingered on the notebook in his hands, "Weird things about Nico? Short kid, emo, messy black hair? Isn't that kid your friend?" he asked.

"He is."

"Then why do you have a 2 page long list of things that are weird about him?"

"Because," Artemis explained, "Nico isn't who he says he is. And I need to find out what he's hiding."

"Why do you need to do that?" Butler asked, confused.

"Because I am Artemis Fowl!" He declared indignantly, "I don't back down from a mystery!"

"Maybe you should back down from this one." Butler suggested, "Friends don't poke their noses in each other's business."

"They don't?"

"No. If Nico is hiding something, it's because he's not comfortable with other people knowing. Maybe you should just... let it go."

Artemis stared at the notebook. Could Butler be right? Come to think about it, Butler was usually right when it came to emotional matters. He could live with one unsolved mystery. Probably.

But still...

He tossed the notebook into his trunk.

"Just in case." he said, noticing Butler's disapproving frown.

****Line Break****

Artemis watched as Athena carried away three different letters. He probably wouldn't be seeing her for a while.

One of the letters was for Nico. He wrote to Nico every week, but Nico hadn't responded in 2 months, and believe it or not, he was starting to get worried. He was starting to wonder if he had scared him off by sending him a copy of his favorite myth/romance novel, the story of Hades and Persephone(which was ironically, the very first myth he had bothered to read). Artemis had recently found himself even more obsessed with Greek mythology than usual(which was saying something), ever since Butler had got those books for him at the end of the last school year. Artemis had immediately noticed the similarities between Nico and Hades, and had even considered writing a theatrical adaptation of the myth and asking Nico to play the part of Hades. But he had a feeling that Nico wouldn't appreciate that.

The second letter was meant for the Weasley twins, and had no more than a few sentences.

I accept your proposal. But if we're doing this, we're doing it right. The new DADA teacher is a moron. Prepare for Plan ATAMAP. Grab extra supplies.

They'd know what to do. Hopefully.

The last letter was meant to be for Draco Malfoy. But for some reason, Draco hadn't replied to any of his letters either. Artemis wasn't the paranoid type(most of the time anyway) but he was starting to find it suspicious that neither of his friends showed any signs of having received his letters. It was almost as though they were ignoring him. But why? They wouldn't do that! Would they?

As Artemis washed the last droplets of ink off his hands, he thought, "The school year hasn't even begun yet, and it's already shaping up to be quite mysterious."

A.N:

Hey there!

Merry Christmas!

Remember how I was all like, "The sequel will be up by next Sunday"? I lied.

Not that I meant to, obviously. But... I got sick. And it's kind of hard to write when you can barely think straight.

So what did you  think of this chapter?

These first few chapters will just be an introduction. Sorry if this chapter was a bit lame. Like I said, it's kind of hard to think with a headache and a stuffed nose.

Yeah, I'm skipping Diagon Alley, because if Artemis went there, he'd probably kill Lockhart out of pure annoyance before the story could even begin. And Nico's off fighting a war, so....

You get the idea.

Next chapter we get to see Nico! And Hades! 

Anyway, as usual, please vote and comment!

P.S: Sorry for any typos that I didn't notice.

-Keera😎