Harry Potter and the Lost Half-Bloods. *1*

Harry

Nico scares away some strangers

HARRY: Nico followed us onto the platform without saying a word. Mrs. Weasley explained to him how to get through the barrier and he followed us without a problem, thankfully.

"We can sit in our usual compartment I presume?" I asked.

Ron and Hermione stopped. Great, something else they didn't tell me. I should be used to feeling left out at this point.

"Actually, the thing is, Ron and I got chosen as prefects. We were going to tell you last night but it seemed that enough news had been broken to you."

"We have to sit in the prefect's compartment. Sorry, Harry," Ron added sadly.

"Great then." I put on a false smile, trying to hide the obvious envy that I felt. This was a bit vain to say but I'd helped out Hogwarts more than Ron and Hermione had! I deserved it more than they did. This was just another thing to add to the list of things bothering me, along with the stupid Daily Prophet article I'd discovered on Ron's table this morning. Once I had seen the headline about me, I set it down in a rush. I didn't need to read another article about how the government thinks I'm mad.  "I'll find a place for Nico and me to sit then. Um, follow me."

As I walked onto the train I noticed a lot more people were gawking at me than usual. Then I realized something else, not only were they staring at me, but they were also pointing and whispering about Nico.

"Here, this compartment is just fine."

I had thought it was empty, but when we walked in I was surprised to see other students I didn't recognize already sitting in the compartment. Both were hovering over a daily prophet article.

Both of the girls' eyes widened as they saw me.

"Oh, I'm sorry for interrupting. I thought the compartment was empty. We'll sit somewhere else." I started to back away towards the door.

"It's okay." The girl with frizzy brown hair and caramel colored skin answered. Her friend beside her, taller with wavy blonde hair nodded in agreement. "You can sit with us, Harry."

I mumbled a thanks. Nico seemed momentarily frozen, looking at the frizzy-haired girl with curiosity. I nudged him, and he sat. I lifted up both of our trunks and put them in a rack above our seats.

"I feel bad," I sat down. "You two are letting me into your compartment, you know me, yet I don't even know your Hogwarts houses. What're your names?" They both smiled.

"Annabeth," said the blonde. "Sixth year Ravenclaw. I think we've only interacted on the Quidditch field."

I remembered Annabeth now. Her and Cho were both brilliant seekers. I heard that this year they were going to give Annabeth a shot at seeker and allow Cho to play the chaser position.

"Hazel!" The dark-haired girl replied. "I'm a fourth year Hufflepuff."

Nico sat up, suddenly appearing more interested in the conversation. He stared at Hazel as you may stare at somebody who you know you've met, but you don't quite recognize. He stared at Hazel as I had stared at him upon our first meeting.
Hazel shifted uncomfortably in her seat but didn't regard his glare.

"Yeah, um, I'm Harry." The girls laughed. "Right. I expect I didn't have to introduce myself."

For being considered a kind of wizarding celebrity, I still wasn't used to the fact that I didn't really have to introduce myself to people. Sure, I guess in some aspects that were useful, but it's kind of strange having everybody around you know your life story.

"I'm Nico." Surprisingly, Nico spoke. The girls both stared at him with odd expressions.

"We know. We've all read the prophet. Um...I'm really sorry for your loss." Hazel said sadly. Nico was still looking at her with the same strange expression.

"Yeah. Thanks." He said, monotone. "Um...can I see that?" He pointed to the paper that Hazel and Annabeth had been reading when we had come into the compartment.

"Yeah, sure." Annabeth handed him the paper. This was the article I had seen setting on the Weasley's dining room table this morning.

"The Boys Who Lived?
That's right, you read it correctly: boys!
Recently our sources have witnessed many strange happenings in the muggle world, ranging from odd storms to buildings collapsing. When asked about the subject, Minister of Magic, Mr. Cornelius Fudge says this: "bad things happen in the wizarding world and muggle world alike. These are not always caused by bad people, merely bad coincidences. A tornado is no reason to assume that you-know-who is at fault." Since many have recently uttered false accusations of the Dark force's resurrection, a lot of people began questioning whether these events are linked. Our minister assured us last week with that comment, but this week things have changed.

No deaths have happened in any of these strange events: until now. Nico Di Angelo, a young boy aged fourteen, was the apparent target for these attacks. Since his house was attacked last week, and his parents were unfortunately taken in the flames, the attacks have come to a standstill. This brings us many questions: Is this a new dark force, with a new target? Did that target, Nico, miraculously defeat the force with no logical explanation?

When the minister was asked about these concerns, he answered with this: "Di Angelo was a homeschooled wizarding boy, possibly troubled, it may not have been another force at all who started this fire. Perhaps our attacker was a mere troubled teen who decided to stop his evil deeds when his tomfoolery took his own parent's lives. But because there is no evidence of this yet, Albus Dumbledore decided to take in this boy to Hogwarts. My advice for the concerned citizens is not to worry, but if sending your children to Hogwarts, please make sure they remain vigilant."

The story of Nico Di Angelo is quite similar to that of Harry Potter's. Perhaps this teen thought he could share some light with the wizard he had read about in many textbooks and had read in many articles about.

Harry Potter may have put thoughts of concern into your heads because of his ridiculous accusations. The minister stressed that none of us take these suspicions seriously.

"If there is anything to be feared, it is not the accusations, but the accuser." - Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fuge."

"Oh." Nico set down the paper without showing much emotion. Me, on the other hand, I was fuming.

"The prophet's total rubbish. That's actually what we were discussing before you two came in here." Hazel reassured when she saw the embarrassment in my expression.

Nico didn't reply, he continued glaring at Hazel.

"Thanks. I--um--I appreciate it." I answered for both of us.

The girls both smiled kindly.

"I should head to the prefect's compartment." Annabeth stood up and smoothed out her skirt. "I'll see you after the feast, Hazel. I'll meet you in your common room."

"I might join the other Hufflepuffs in their usual compartment this year, I wouldn't want to bother you two. Uh, I'll see you!" Hazel waved us off as the compartment door slid shut. 

I'm awful at carrying on a conversation as it is. Adding in the fact that Nico wasn't much of a conversationalist either didn't help the situation. But to my surprise, he spoke first.

"Her name...she said it was Hazel?"

I nodded.

"Where is she from?"

I shrugged.

"I don't know. I've actually never seen either of those two much at Hogwarts before, but they aren't in my year or my house, so that's not that unlikely. All I know about Annabeth is that she's decent on a broom. It's also well-known that those two are inseparable, best friends. Why do you ask?"

"No reason." He shook his head, stretched out his legs, and closed his eyes. I took that as a sign he didn't want to be asked anything else. Even if I did ask the questions I had about him, about the bits and pieces of the dream I remembered, I doubt he'd answer.