Different Worlds (Harry Potter | Percy Jackson Crossover)

Chapter 16: The Yule Ball (Part 2)

"Finally!" Ron yelled happily as we arrived inside the Gryffindor Common Room. As usual, the demigods were occupying the couches where they were lying around and keeping themselves busy. I almost immidately dropped my books on the table and plopped myself beside Nico who was a bit surprised at my actions. I laid on his lap and sighed heavily with relief.

"Hey, hey, is that... Neville?" Ginny asked, pointing to the corner of the room where we saw Neville sulking. Ginny was fine, by the way. Their class wasn't tortured by our professors. "Neville? Neville, hey! Are you alright?" she asked, running to him and tried to comfort him.

I turned back to face the fire place and put Nico's arm around my shoulder, hugging him tightly. Everyone looked at us cheesily. Piper and Hazel giggled and Hermione just smiled. Nico looked a tiny bit embarrassed at what I was doing, but I didn't worry.

"You must be really tired, huh?" Nico asked, smirking. I nodded my head in reply.

"Is public display of affection allowed in the common room?" Annabeth playfully asked Harry. Everyone cracked up, including me.

After the laughing died down, the feeling of tiredness again filled the whole room. It wasn't that late yet, but only we and some older students were left in the common room. Everyone in our class must have been tired from all of the school work the professors were pressuring on us.

"Evil he is," Ron said bitterly. "Springing a test on us on the last day. Ruining the last bit of term with a whole load of studying. I mean, look at everyone. A-And Shadow. Can you imagine how much strain is being put on her since she's an auror?"

I was too lazy to make a comment on that, so I just nodded my head in reply.

"Mmm... you're not exactly straining yourself, though, are you?" said Hermione, looking at him over the top of her Potions notes. Ron was busy building a card castle out of his Exploding Snap pack - a much more interesting pastime than with Muggle cards, because of the chance that the whole thing would blow up any second.

"It's Christmas, Hermione," Harry told her lazily; he was rereading Flying with the Cannons for the tenth time in an armchair near the fire.

Hermione looked severely over at him, too. "I'd have thought you'd be doing something constructive, Harry, even if you don't want to learn your antidotes!"

I heard a breath trickle down the side of my neck. I looked and saw Nico fast asleep. He looked so cute and adorable, but of course, he still looked alert and cautious, as if he couldn't sleep normally. I kissed his cheek and ruffled his hair lightly. Because of that, his expression softened, and now, he was sleeping soundly. Looking at him made my eyelids want to drop, too.

Since I was exhausted and bummed out, I decided to go to sleep, not caring about the consequences or about what might happen. My eyelids closed and in Nico's arms, I drifted away into deep sleep.

~Harry's POV~

"Like what?" I asked Hermione, watching Joey Jenkins of the Cannons belt a Bludger toward a Ballycastle Bats Chaser.

"That egg!" Hermione hissed.

"Hey, uhm, guys," Frank tried to say, but we ignored him.

"Come on, Hermione, I've got till February the twenty-fourth," I said. The golden egg was upstairs in my trunk. I haven't opened it since the celebration party after the first task. There were still two and a half months to go until I needed to know what the screechy wailing meant, after all.

"Guys," this time, Leo tried, but Hermione ignored her.

"But it might take weeks to work it out!" Hermione exclaimed. "You're going to look like a real idiot if everyone else knows what the next task is and you don't!"